Forever
by DarkSecrets3
Summary: This is the third story to Missing piece, a short summary will be given if you have not read the first 2. Donnie's finally got his memory back and Taylor thought everything would be normal again. She was wrong, Shredder is a bigger threat then ever and with a new enemy on the rise, Taylor might not get her 'forever' with Donnie. I do not own tmnt and please review.
1. Missing pieceBroken review

**Hello and welcome to my third story in the missing piece series. Here I will be giving a short summary of the first two stories for those of you who have not read them. If you have read Missing piece and Broken, continue on with the next chapter, if you have only read broken you may continue to the next chapter too. If you haven't read Missing piece or Broken, I suggest you stick around. **

**Missing piece review**

So first of all welcome to my story! Today I'll be explaining and/or reviewing my first story for those of you who take an interest in my second story but don't feel like going back to read my first. So here is the need to know basics of my first story that you missed.

It's told through the point of view of a 14 year old girl named Taylor. Broken is told through her point of you, much like missing piece. Anyway, Taylor has two best friends names Lily and John. They were all in the doughnut shop one day, when across the street Taylor noticed that Murakami's was getting robbed. She decided to go help but Lily and John did not go with her.

Taylor ended up getting chased by the purple dragons and of course, got rescued by the turtles. They had dragged her in the sewer, and she got a concussion and passed out. Taylor awoke and then befriended the turtles after some freaking out. Donnie treated her head and she had to stay with the turtles over night because of her concussion. Donnie stayed up with all night and the two of them became really close.

Early in the morning, Shredder, the foot, and the krang burst in the lair. Master Splinter grabbed Taylor and ran out of their while the turtles stayed and fought back. The turtles ended up getting chased from their home and now they all have to stay in a different part of the sewer, which they called their temporary home. When they arrived there, Leo passed out the floor because he was severely injured.

Taylor continued to visit the turtles for about a week, and all this time Leo had been unconscious. Then her parents started to get suspicious and grounded her due to the thought that they found her bike by the pawn shop. But that was the closes man hole cover to the turtles. Taylor's parents thought she was part of a street gang and that's why she grounded her. Also, Taylor's friends were mad because she kept ditching them after work. She never went to the doughnut shop anymore and that got her friends angry, thinking they've been replaced.

Taylor couldn't tell her friends or parents about the turtles, so she kept their secret. This resulting the grounding and losing her two best and only friends. But Taylor didn't stay locked in her room for long, Donnie had appeared on her window sill with news about Leo and that they needed her help. Taylor of course went with Donnie and helped Leo. His wounds got infected and needed to be cleaned, Donnie was not able to do it because he didn't have any supplies. Taylor on the other hand did.

When Donnie returned her home, she explained how she was grounded and how she wouldn't be able to go see them for a while. But Donnie promised to come get her every night so they could see each other. Right then, Donnie and Taylor kissed. Taylor explained it as 'a force that was holding them together.' When the kiss ended Donnie zoomed out of the window without saying a word.

Getting freaked out, Donnie broke his promise and never returned for Taylor for two weeks. Taylor then decided to run away from her home and she went to stay with the turtles. They turtles said yes with open arms and Taylor would stay with them for as long as she needed. Leo was now awake but rarely talked. His brothers took him out on walks to stretch his legs. One day when returning from a walk, Splinter was gone. Turns out he's been taken by the krang and Shredder whom are now working together to defeat the turtles.

Taylor successfully finds out that Splinter is being held at TCRI and when they get him back, he decides to train Taylor as a kunoichi. When Donnie hears this news at first he is thrilled but then he seems kind of worried. Taylor didn't know why but after a few weeks Splinter tells Taylor that April, Donnie's former crush, left them less then a year ago to join the foot clan. It is assumed that that is the reason for Donnie's fear/concerns to why Taylor is training as a ninja, because last time their friend/his crush left him to be evil and he doesn't want that to happen with Taylor.

Regardless Taylor keeps training as a ninja. But she fears that her love for Donnie will not work out due to his traumatic experience in the past. So she keeps her feelings a secret from Donnie. She then learns that Donnie likes her back, but now it's even harder to keep her feelings a secret. She promised Mikey that she wouldn't tell Donnie about her love for him because Mikey is afraid that Donnie will get heart broken again.

After a few months of training, Taylor, the turtles and Master Splinter decides to go attack Shredder before he can do them any harm. They fight in the basement of TCRI and Taylor ends up facing off against April, who nicknamed Taylor 'Princess' And called Donnie 'Lover boy.' Taylor, without a weapon, improvises and grabs a pipe, and knocks April out then goes off to fight a krang. April isn't defeated yet and quickly goes after Taylor again, attempting to kill her. Taylor doesn't notice April sneaking up on her, but Donnie does. He rushes off to help Taylor and saves her. April ends up dropping her katana and fights with her bare hands.

It's not long after until a foot ninja throws April back her weapon but April doesn't notice. Taylor and Donnie are now on the ground with April leaning over them. Taylor thinks that it's over, but April katana ends up flying into her neck, killing April. Taylor nor Donnie can believe she's dead. Donnie crawls over to April to see if she's really dead. And sure enough she is. Even though Donnie lost all interest her, he still devastated that she's dead and cries by her dead body. Taylor goes over to Donnie and comforts him but Donnie keeps saying how no one will ever love him. Taylor couldn't stand to hear Donnie go on so that's when she confesses her feelings for him.

Donnie, almost forgetting about April, says that he likes her two. So the two of them hug then get up to join their family, they had won the fight! Shredder and his men had flee. Even though they had one the fight, injuries still occurred. Mikey who was injured could not stand on his own so he had the help of Raph. Splinter was injured as well with his fur stained red. Donnie had a huge gash going across his eye and onto his cheek. Turns out Donnie had been injured worst then appeared and falls to the floor shaking. Leo then leaves Master Splinter to Taylor and goes to help Donnie. They then all rush home.

The next morning, everyone turns out to be okay. Except that Mikey had a dislocated ankle but was treated by Donnie. Donnie on the other hand had a bandage around his forehead and cheek to cover his gash. And his eye was all red and puffy. But that didn't stop Donnie from inventing a healing gel that could heal cuts in seconds. It took a while to make, so between that period of time Donnie had asked Taylor out on a date. She of course said yes.

They went on their date, a romantic dinner that Donnie had put together with Mikey as the waiter. They then danced to Taylor's favourite slow song and when they were finished, Taylor wanted to kiss but it didn't happen. When they returned home, Taylor thanked Donnie for the night but Donnie didn't leave her room. That's when they kissed.

The next day the healing cream was finished. After some convincing, Donnie tested it on Taylor. Resulting that it works but stings a little. Donnie then treats all his brothers with the gel but barely had enough for himself. Taylor convinces him to use it and she treats him herself. Now Donnie's gash had merely turned into a cut.

Now, every Friday night Taylor goes to her parents house for a visit because she was feeling homesick. And every Saturday night Taylor and Donnie go on a date. For example, their second date was that Donnie took her topside to see some fireworks. That will be an important detail in this story ( Broken.)

After they've been doing this for about a month, Taylor decides that it's time for her parents to meet the turtles. Now a while back, I forgot to mention that Lily and John had met and befriended the turtles. John connecting with Mikey the most and Lily with Raph. They were also at Taylor's parents house for the weekly visits.

It took some convincing but the turtles agreed to meet Taylor's parents and her brothers, Mark (older) and Conner (younger.) The visit didn't start off so well but after a little while, everyone started to click and began talking in their own little conversation. Raph, Lily and Mark started to chat while John, Mikey and Conner talked as well. Donnie talked to Taylor's dad and Leo to her mom. During these conversations, Taylor manages to pull Donnie aside and tell him that she wants to tell her parents that they're dating.

After an hour the turtles decide to leave but Taylor and Donnie stay behind to make their announcement. His brothers don't stay due to the fact that they already know. When Taylor tells her parents the news, they don't handle it very well. But Taylor doesn't care, she then turns to Donnie and says...

" He's my boyfriends...and I love him." That's when Taylor first says that she loves Donnie and not just likes him. Donnie then says that she loves her too. All this time Taylor parents say nothing, so Taylor and Donnie decided to leave. The story ends with Taylor thinking to herself and she says ( in her head) that Donnie is her missing piece.

Another VERY IMPORTANT detail that I forgot to mention was that back at TCRI, when Taylor told Donnie that she likes him. Donnie responded with 'me too.' Taylor was confused but Donnie clarifies that he likes her too. And now the words 'me too' are very special to Donnie and Taylor and sorta like their special words that they say to each other during sentimental moments. The words 'me too' was the beginning of their relationship.

Okay so that's all you really need to know. If your now interested to read my first story, you can find it here...

da link- s/10085123/1/Missing-piece

So I hope this summary helped and if during any time your confused, feel free to ask me. But as for now, your free to go enjoy my second story! So please, enjoy!

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**Broken review**

Broken is told through Taylor's point of view again and so will Forever. Anyway, Broken takes place one year after Missing piece did...I think. And It starts off that Donnie and Taylor are having a fight about protons and electrons(science stuff) cause their working on a machine together. Some things get said, they make up and but then Donnie accidentally calls Taylor April. Taylor get's upset and her and Donnie don't talk for a few days. That was until Taylor went out to the rooftop of their second date (very important in this story) and Donnie was there. They talked and just when Donnie was about to apologize, footninjas attack and Donnie/Taylor get taken to TCRI. There, Donnie get's tortured by Shredder cause he and the krang are working together. Taylor manages to escape with a passed out Donnie and take him back to the lair.

Three weeks go by with an unconscious Donnie until he finally wakes up all broken and bruised (hence the name Broken) and the first thing he says to Taylor is "who are you?" Through out the story Donnie loses his memory and it's up to Taylor, the turtles, Lily and John to get his memory back. Also, Karai is captured by the turtles and held captive. They want to get revenge on Shredder, so the capture his 'daughter' but later in the story Karai finds out she's Miwa and Leo is crushed. Since he loved Karai and all but now their 'brother and sister.'

So Donnie's been having headaches and no one knows what is causing them and Taylor soon discovers that a way to get Donnie's memory back is to show him pictures of his past, or the things that he had forgotten. The turtles and Taylor rebuild ever scene that was important to Donnie and later show him the pictures, but Taylor did not take a picture of her first date because she was too...well...I don't really know. Anyway, A month goes by and Donnie doesn't get his memory back. So Taylor finally decides to physically take Donnie to the scene of their first date. Since Donnie is nearly healed(after four months) he was able to replicate the healing gel.

Taylor and Donnie replay their first date and Donnie get's one of his headaches except it's a really bad one and he passes out. Taylor calls Leo to help bring Donnie back and when Donnie wakes up again (about a day or two later) he remembers. Turns out his headaches was his memories coming back to him. Yay! But...it's not a happy ending yet. Taylor is still worried that Donnie still has feelings for April and that he might have loved her more. So she suggests that they 'take a break' from each other for a week, Donnie is not happy, but agrees.

While Christmas shopping, even though it's May but they skipped Christmas cause the family wanted to wait for Donnie, Taylor and Lily get into a small fight. Taylor runs off to the rooftop of Donnie's and her second date. That's when something weird happens, a voice starts talking to Taylor. She has no idea what it is and believes she's going crazy. But her 'inner voice' tells Taylor to make Donnie hate her, thus leading to their break up. Anyway, Taylor's 'inner voice' sends her a vision of what would happen if Taylor didn't make Donnie hate her. It's a vision of all the turtles and Splinter dead in the dojo, the vision is replayed through 'Forever' so I wont' give anything away. Long story short, Taylor is convinced and makes Donnie hate her by breaking up with him. She claims that he was 'too late' and that she did enough 'waiting' so it's over.

One thing I forgot to mention was that Taylor and Donnie promised each other to never leave each other...yeah that didn't last long and now Donnie is super sad. A few days/maybe a week passes by and Taylor(with the help of Leo) realizes that she was completely insane to listen to a voice who suddenly popped into her head. So she goes to Donnie's lab, which he hasn't left this entire time, and tries to apologize. They fight a little but in the end they make up. And the story ends that Taylor states "Donnie and I, we are unbreakable."

The epilogue is that they celebrate their little fake Christmas and everything is great...for now.

**So that's pretty much all you need to know! Oh and remember, Taylor's/Donnie's special 'thing' is 'me too'. Now you are free to (hopefully) go enjoy my third story. If your interested in reading Broken now, you can find it here. **

**da link- s/10204390/1/Broken **

**And please, if anyone has read broken, and I forgot to mention something. Please tell me in a review or a PM. Thanks and please enjoy Forever!**

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Character description

**Taylor: **Decent height girl, around the same height as Mikey but not as tall as Raph. She has brown hair which she usually wears in a ponytail but sometimes wears in down. Her eyes are a blue-grey colour that sometimes look green in certain light. She's a smart girl that resembles Donnie a little bit but isn't quite as good with machines. Friends with Lily and John and the turtles. Dating Donnie, and loves him very much. Use to work at a coffee shop called 'Fill me up Coffee Shop' but now is training as a Kunoichi.

**Lily:** Is a somewhat short girl, shorter then Taylor. Has blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She best friends with John and Taylor, seems to have a special connection with Raph. Possibilities for relationship? Works at a nail saloon.

**John: **Is a taller boy, about the same height as Raph, maybe an inch taller. As dark brown hair with green eyes. He's best friends with Lily and Taylor and has a good connection with Mikey. He loves comic books, and works at a comic book store. Is described as his 'dream job.'

**Antonio: **Antonio was Taylor's dad's best friend but they had a fight a few years back. He continues to help Taylor with supplies, food, and money that she needs to survive down in the sewer. Average weight and height for a grown man, possibly of the beefier side. Is Italian/Canadian and owns Antonio's pizza. The turtles favourite place to buy pizza. Not a major character

**Evil April: **Looks like April but much more sly and sneaky. She now wears an outfit of black with some metal on her. Looks a lot like Karai.

**Harriet: **Harriet is Taylor's mother. She has brown wavy hair though usually wears it up. She has blue eyes like and works as a nurse. Is very proper and neat.

**Jerry: **Jerry is Taylor's Father. He is a tall man and has short brown hair, a darker shade. His eyes are a pale blue/green and he works as a mechanic.

**Mark: **Mark is Taylor's 17 year old older brother. He's tall and skinny and loves to tease his younger siblings. Mark has brown shaggy hair and pale green eyes. Is not employed

**Conner: **Conner is Taylor's 6 year old younger brother. He's rather short but is fully of spirit. He has beautiful blue eyes and a light brown hair, could be considered dirty blonde.

**Garret: **A boy around Taylor's age and a bit taller then her too. Had red hair and blue eyes. Not a major character in 'Broken' but you learn more about him in Forever.


	2. Prologue

I thought after all of this, it would be over. Smooth sailing with only miner problems in life. I thought after Donnie got his memory back, after we got back together, we would finally get our happily ever after, but I was wrong.

I forgot about a few major problems. For one thing, I forgot about Shredder. What are we gonna do about him? This whole house is revenge thirsty on Shredder. We want to pay him back for what he did to Donnie. Shredder's been a problem in our lives for far too long. It's time we do something...but what?

Another problem that's taking over our lives are the Krang. Shredder and the Krang are working together and someone we need to get them back to dimension X. I asked yet again, how do we do that? What do we do?

Then, I forgot about one of my own personal problems. My 'inner voice'. What is it? It just comes and goes when it likes. But I know when it's about to speak, I suddenly feel really, really cold. And that's saying something since I'm rarely cold at all. I can't tell anyone about it. The first time the voice spoke to me, it sent me a vision, a terrible vision. Then, it said that it would make my vision come true if I made Donnie hate me.

I tried, I tried so hard to make Donnie hate me. I was scared, so I did it. But, in the end, he and I got back together. So now, I'm even more scared. What will it do when it finds out Donnie doesn't hate me? I thought maybe if I kept it a secret, it would go away. But it didn't, and now, I don't know how I will ever get it to go away.

I want to tell someone about it, I really do, but...I can't. Fear controls me now, or more like my inner voice controls me. I need to do whatever it wants me too or my vision will come true, or so it says. I know I sound crazy to listen to some voice that suddenly appeared in my head. But for some reason it just feels right, it feels real. You wouldn't know what it feels like unless you've experienced it yourself. You wouldn't understand. And that's why I can't tell anybody, they wouldn't understand. Not even Donnie. And he gets me better then anyone else.

Hhh, Donnie. He hasn't been the same since he got tortured. He keeps staring off in the distances like he sees a ghost. And he has this fear of the surface, that something might hurt him. But, I'll explain that later.

What I'm dying to know is, how do I get my life back to normal? I want to go back to the easy days, but I can't. How do I fix all of my problems? I don't know. So one question remains...

What do I do now?


	3. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

" C'mon we could do, ouu or we could, ah!" Donnie was running around the lair and jumping off of the walls like a overly excited Mikey. I laughed as Donnie couldn't even finish one of his sentences, he was too hyped up with excitement.

It's been two months since Donnie and I got back together, since he got his memory back, since he got better. And ever since he healed, Donnie was even more hyper then Mikey. He couldn't sit still and couldn't stand to do nothing.

It was near the end of July and the lair was really hot. I didn't know how Donnie could be running around the lair without running out of breath, or die of thirst. And the weird thing is, it's like one in the morning, no one could sleep.

We were all in the living room, just laying on the couch, dying from the heat. Well, almost everyone was lying on the couch. Donnie was running around and Mikey was right behind him. They were full of energy, even in this heat. But the rest of us were all stretched out on the couch wondering when the heat wave would end. Leo was lying down at the end of the couch with one arm hanging off of the edge. Raph was upside down and looked like he could explode, I was next to Raph. I was sitting up and my head was back. Then Karai was at the other end of the couch and she was face first into a pillow.

" Donnie! Stop running, your making me hot just watching you!" Raph shouted as Donnie zoomed past him.

" I can't, there's so much to do...or that I can do, or-" Donnie stopped mid sentence when Mikey was catching up to him. Donnie took off again, not wanting to get caught by Mikey in their little game of tag.

I laughed. It was nice too see Donnie back to his old self. Well, kinda. I've notice lately that Donnie stairs off into space...a lot. Like I mean way more then a usual person. So far I just kinda ignored it, I don't want to get work up over nothing.

" Donnie!" Mikey cried as he stopped to catch his breath, "Can we take a break? I'm beat." Mikey finished his sentence and collapsed on the floor without waiting for a response from Donnie. Mikey layed on the floor breathing heavily, eyes closed, but had a smile on his face. Like he couldn't believe that he got to rest for a few moments.

Donnie skidded to a halt. He looked back at Mikey, his face had a hint of disappointment to it. Donnie stood in one place, but he wasn't still. He was rocking back and forth on his heels. I could tell that he didn't know what to do now, but he didn't want to stand still for a second.

I knew if Donnie didn't do something soon, he might go crazy. So I sighed and decided to get up. I had planned a surprise for Donnie about a month ago, and it was just finished now. I wanted to save it for our date night, but I figured I'd better do this now.

"Alright Donnie." I began as I got up from the couch, "Let's do something." I told him and his face lit up.

"Okay." He cheered happily, "What'd you wanna do?"

" I have something in mind." I told him a bit mischievously, " It's a surprise."

" Oh, okay." He smiled and walked over to me, "Where is this..surprise."

I smiled back at him and took the lead, I was heading for the door, "This way. Follow me!" I shouted back and picked up my paste a little. Donnie began to sprint after me. I stopped at the entrance of the lair and waited for Donnie to catch up.

When he did catch up to me, I jumped over those spiny things and out into the sewer tunnels. I expected Donnie to follow me, but when I looked back, Donnie stopped dead in his path. It look as if his feet were frozen to the ground and horror struck in his eyes.

" Y-you mean, we're go-going out there? To the surface?" Donnie stuttered.

Dang it! I forgot Donnie was afraid. Ever since Donnie got beaten, he hadn't, or more like he couldn't go up on the surface. He could barely have left his bed. And now, every little noise makes him jump. Foot steps, knocking on doors, when the fridge starts up and shuts off. And so, he's scared to go on the surface in case something might come and hurt him...again.

"Um..." I gave a hard swallow, " Yeah." How could I have forgotten Donnie's fear?

" But, I-" Donnie paused to find the right words. He didn't like admitting he was scared, but we all new it. "I have something to show you...In my lab." Donnie spoke then ran towards the security of his lab.

I exchanged a sad glance with everyone. They all sat up when Donnie ran off. We were all hopping that Donnie would have gotten over his fear of the surface in the past two months. But he hadn't.

I ran after Donnie to his lab. I opened the giant metal doors and slid them closed behind me once I entered. I found Donnie at his desk, panting.

"Finally running out of breath?" I asked jokingly as I walked over to him. Donnie looked worn out, why? Had he really out tired himself that much?

Donnie showed no sign of response. He was bent over his desk, looking down at papers on it.

"Donnie?" I walked right up to him this time and rubbed his shoulder, "Are you okay?" I asked and looked down at the papers he was looking at. They all had writing on it, his writing. There must off been five or six pieces of paper on his desk that all had the same words on them. All of them said,

_Get out! Get out! Stop it! Get away! Get out!_

Over and over again.

All of a sudden Donnie's hand clenched together and crumpled up the pieces of paper. Had he noticed that I was staring at them?

"I'm fine." Donnie muttered through gritted teeth. I could easily tell that he was lying.

" Donnie? What's wrong?" I asked and lifted his chin towards me. I seen a strange expression on his face. It was regret, anger, and fear. Why was he like this?

Then, his expression soften and he smiled at me, like he just realized that I was here

"Nothing." Donnie replied softly and kissed me lightly on the lips. Although the kiss was comforting, it wasn't convincing. Donnie was hiding something from me. But right now, I wasn't sure I wanted to know what it was.

A moment of silence fell over us before I began to speak.

"So, what did you want to show me?" I asked, changing the subject.

" Oh right." Donnie looked like I just snapped him back to reality, " I wanted to save this for your birthday..." Donnie began and walked over to the machine he and I build to rearrange particles in the air and project a picture on the screen, "Actually, I wanted to save it for our first snow fall day, but we both know that didn't happen." Donnie laughed an awkward laugh before continuing, "Anyway, I was saving this for you birthday, but...I really want to show it to you now."

My birthday. My sixteenth birthday was coming up soon. In August, august third to be exact. And the turtles wanted to plan a big party for me, but I wouldn't let them. I don't like birthday parties, I hate being the centre of attention.

"Donnie." I continued and walked over to him. I rested a hand on one of his shoulders, "How about we wait until my birthday for you to show it to me." I could tell this was just a cover so he wouldn't have to go topside. I could see that he still wanted to wait until my birthday to show me whatever he wanted to.

Donnie stared blankly at me for a moment then smiled.

"Okay." He whispered.

" Can I show you my surprise now?" I asked pleadingly. Donnie will eventually have to go topside again. I thought this would be a nice way for him to get over his fear.

" Uh," Donnie hesitated as the smile faded away from his face.

" Please. I feel bad for not getting you a Christmas present." I confessed.

" But you did get me a gift-" Donnie started with a happy glow in his eyes.

"I don't count." I told me and narrowed my eyes, but in a jokingly way. I wasn't mad or anything.

Donnie let out a sigh of defeat, Fine." He finally answered me with a smile, "But it's only because I love you."

" Yay!" I squealed and jumped once for joy, " Let's go!" I grabbed Donnie's hand and ran out of his lab, " Wait here." I ordered him and ran to the kitchen. I came back out with a blanker and a already packed picnic basket, " Come on!" I called and threw the blanket over my shoulder. And with a basket in one hand, I took Donnie's hand again in with my other. With that, I got him out of lair.

We walked the sewer tunnels in silence, just enjoying each other's company. Everything was running smoothly until we came to the man hole cover. I climbed up the ladder to push open the cover but I stopped and turned my head around when I didn't hear Donnie following me anymore. Once again, fear froze him as he stared up in horror at the man hole cover. He gave a hard swallow before speaking.

" Taylor." Donnie's voice was shaky, " I-I don't th-think I can do this." Donnie finished his sentence and jumped as a sewer rat ran by. Like I said, every little noise scares Donnie now.

I climbed down the ladder and walked over to Donnie. I felt sorry for him.

"Donnie," I began, " I won't make you go up there if your really scared. But, if you do, I promise that I won't let anything hurt you, ever again." I told him softly.

Donnie looked down at his feet for a moment to think. I really wish I knew what was going on in his head. I use to be able to take one look at Donnie and know what he was thinking, feeling. But ever since, I just don't know anymore. One minute he's up-beat and happy, the next he's quiet and sad. I don't know what to expect anymore.

As everything was quiet when I waited for Donnie to give an answer. I couldn't help but look at all of his scars. Like the one that goes across his eye, and his arm. His arm that had almost no skin left did eventually heal, but it's all blotchy now and probably will be for life. Then his Shell that goes across his rib cage, like his arm, did heal over time, but you could still the faint lining of where it was cracked. And after six months now, Donnie's broken leg was still bothering him. It made me worry that it didn't heal right. It shouldn't be bothering him after six months, should it?

" Okay, I'll do it." Donnie answered without making eye contact with me. But his voice turned my attention back to him and not towards his scars.

I smiled and walked back up the ladder. I made sure I couldn't hear anything or anyone coming and I pushed open the man hole cover. I gripped the surface and hopped out. When I was safely out of the sewer, I looked back down and seen Donnie looking up. He was only little ways up the ladder. I figured he might need a little motivation, so I set the picnic basket down and I stuck my hand down to help him up.

Donnie took once glance at my hand and held out his shaky hand. When I got a hold of his hand, I held it tightly and firmly. Then with a little boost, I got him up and out of the sewers. Then I shifted around him and closed the man hole.

" You okay?" I asked him. Donnie was crouched down and had his head in his hands. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

" Yeah, I'm good." Donnie reassured me and stood up, " What did you want to show me?" He asked calmly though his voice showed a hint of shakiness to it.

" This way." I said with a smile then picked up the basket and jumped up the fire escape from the nearest building. I waited for Donnie on the rooftops and within a few moments he was here.

" Where too now?" He asked and looked around to observe his surroundings. Six months ago was the last time Donnie went topside. It was time he got out and about again.

"Follow me!" I instructed and started to jump from roof to roof until we got to the destination. I had to slow my paste a little because Donnie couldn't keep up with me. I remember a time when I couldn't keep up with Donnie, but now it seemed to be the other way around. I must admit, it made me a little sad.

We must of jumped roofs for a good 10 minutes before we reached the specific roof I was aiming for. The roof top of mine and Donnie's second date where he took me to see some fire works. But now this roof meant so much more to us. This is where Donnie and I had our little fight, and where we got kidnapped too. If it was up to me, I would have picked another roof, but this was the only one that I could get a signal on that was near by enough. So it had to be this one.

"Memories huh?" I turned around when Donnie came to join me on this roof.

"Yeah...memories." Donnie responded kinda absentmindedly and walked to the spot where I was standing.

"Just think...happy thoughts." I told him as I laid down the blanket I had brought. I could tell Donnie felt a bit iffy on this particular roof, this was the roof where it all started.

"So, what-what are we doing here anyway." Donnie asked as he helped me lay down the blanket. I set the picnic basket aside on one corner of the blanket and sat down. I patted my hand against the blanket, inviting Donnie to sit down with me.

" Lay down." I told him. He gave me a confused look but did as he was told, "Now...look up at the sky."

" Why?" He asked and narrowed his eyes. Donnie was getting a bit suspicious on what I was up too, but he went with it and looked up at the sky.

When I was certain Donnie was staring blankly at the night sky, I leaned over to the picnic basket and pulled out a small white remote that would make the surprise happen. When I got the remote, I laid beside Donnie. Our hands brushed together and he flinched.

" It's okay Donnie." I whispered and held his hand so he would know that it was only me. I felt him relax a little, "Ready?" I asked.

" Yeah." Donnie nodded as he continued to stair at the blank night sky.

" Alright." I concluded and pressed the button on my remote, " It might take a few seconds."

" Okay." Donnie replied calmly, " Hey Taylor? Why are we staring up at the night sky?"

" Because...we have too." I searched for the right words to say. I couldn't tell him the full reason, it might ruin the surprise.

" Oh?" Donnie's voice echoed with confusion, "You know what?"

" What?" I asked.

" I wish New York wasn't so bright all the time. I always wanted to see the..." Before Donnie could finish his sentence my surprise happened.

All the lights in our part of New York just went out. The city was as black as night, but the sky was illuminated with...

"Stars." Donnie finished his sentence with an astonished voice. We were no longer staring up into a black sky, but a sky filled with tiny lights.

I glanced over at Donnie and his eyes were lite up. I've never seen them so..so..bright. It looked as if all the stars in the universe were reflecting in Donnie's eyes. I let a big grin spread across my face knowing that for a short period of time, Donnie has forgotten all of his troubles, all of his fears, and for a moment, he could know what pure joy feels like again.

" Taylor, how did you..." Donnie turned his head to look at me. He was so surprised that he couldn't even finish his own sentence.

" With this!" I held up my other hand that had the remote in it, "I hacked into our town's electrical mainframe."

" Are you serious?" He laughed out his question.

" Yes, I'm serious." I laughed out my response as well. It felt good to bring Donnie happiness again, after going so long without it.

" This...this is amazing!" Donnie stuck his hands up in the air to emphasize his point, "I mean, I can see every constellation...every star in the night sky!"

I laughed as Donnie went on and on about how amazing this was.

" Why did you do this?" Donnie asked, his eyes were glowing with pride.

" Like I said, this counts as a late Christmas present."

" You are the best." Donnie smiled as he leaned over and kissed me, " Thank you." His whispered and brought me in close.

This was the perfect night. Donnie and I on a rooftop, alone, just enjoying each other's embrace, staring up at a clear night sky filled with stars. So as Donnie held me tight, I slowly closed my eyes and breathed in his sent. Then sooner then I knew it, I had fallen asleep. Asleep in Donnie's arms was the perfect way to end a perfect night.

* * *

**First official chapter...happy. Story so far...happy...for now. hehe. **

**Ps: Enjoy and please review! Thanks! :D**


	4. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When I awoke the next morning, I was back in my bed. Donnie must have carried me all the way home last night. I let out a happy sigh and rolled on my back. Life was good right now, but I knew sadly that it wouldn't last forever.

I sat up in my bed and gave a good yawn and I stretched my arms in the air. Then I shivered as my room got dreadfully cold.

" Why is it so cold in-" I began to talk to myself but I stopped mid phrase. I knew exactly what was coming. Who I was about to talk too, " Well, I haven't talked to you in a while." I began the conversation this time. Hoping to sound confident when I was actually terrified.

_**Miss me? **_

" No, not really." I responded flatly.

_**Aww, why not?**_

" Why would I miss talking to my 'inner voice'?"

_**I dunno, I thought we were friend.**_ My inner voice said sarcastically.

" Let me asked you, why does your voice change?"

_**What ever do you mean? **_

" Like you don't know." I huffed, "When I first met you, you called out my name in a deep voice. But then, and now, you sound exactly like me. What gives?"

_**I can't tell you that.**_

" What not?"

_**It'll ruin the secret.**_ It said innocently

" What secret?" I urged on.

_**Do you not get the meaning of a secret?**_

I responded with a question, " Why did you all of a sudden start talking to me again? After two months with nothing, you just suddenly appear. Why? It doesn't make sense.

_**Not everything in this world makes sense my dear. But you know, I got a bit lonely after you betrayed me. I have no one else to talk too. I'm in your head, remember?**_

"How did I betray you?" I asked.

_**Remember our little deal? **_

" Yeah..."

_**Donatello doesn't hate you, does he? **_

" I should hope not." I responded, hoping that it wouldn't hear the unsteadiness to my voice. I knew now where it was going with this.

_**And what about your vision?**_

" What about it?" I tried to sound innocent and clueless.

_**Do you want me to make it happen?**_

" No, of course not! But... I don't see how a voice of my subconscious could make that happen. "

_**I'm not what you think I am. **_

" But-" I began but got stopped mid sentence when I heard approaching footsteps. My 'inner voice' must of heard it too because within seconds, my room got warmer again.

" Taylor?" Donnie called from the hallway then appeared in the door frame of my room.

" Yeah?" I said brightly, hopping to cover up any sign of my previous conversation with, myself.

" Um, Sensei wants to see us in the training room." Donnie told me then smiled.

" What?" I asked.

" Thanks for last night, I-I really enjoyed it." Donnie said nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

I got up and walked over to him.

" No problem." I whispered and gave him a quick kiss.

We walked down the hall together and joined the other in the dojo. Splinter was standing in front of the big bonsai tree with Leo, Raph, Mikey and Karai all kneeling down at his feet. Donnie and joined them on the floor.

" Now that we're all here," Splinter began with a nod of his head, " I want to begin our training again. We went far to long without it and we must start up again."

I exchanged glances with everyone, except Donnie. He just kept looking down at the floor, keeping to himself. But regardless of that, in the end, we all seemed to agree that it was a good idea. A few seconds after our glances Splinter continued.

" Very well. We will begin with sparing, to see what you know and what you need to learn." Splinter confirmed then focus on Donnie, " Donatello-" Splinter began but got interrupted.

" I'm fine Sensei." Donnie spat back but refused to look at anyone. We all knew that this was going to be hard for him, " In fact," Donnie continued, " I want to go first."

This time we all exchanged worried glances. Donnie just wanted to prove that he was better, even though we all know that's not 100% true.

" Are you sure?" Splinter asked kindly. His eyes told everyone that he didn't want his son to push himself too hard. But there was no talking Donnie out of this one.

" Hai, Sensei." Donnie finally looked up and determination shone brightly in his brown eyes.

" Very well." Splinter gave Donnie a nod then turned to Leo, " Leonardo, you will be sparing with Donatello."

Leo tensed up but replied, " Hai Sensei."

And with those last words, Leo stood up and Donnie stumbled up after him. They went to centre of the room and faced each other. We all turned around and to watch. Donnie pulled out his staff while Leo hesitantly pulled out his double katanas.

" Donnie, I-" Leo began. He didn't want to spar with his brother that got tortured just six months ago. Anyone could see that.

" Leo, don't." Donnie whispered, " just, don't."

Leo shut his mouth and Splinter said the words to begin the sparing. Leo and Donnie circled around each other for a few moments. No one knew when, how or who would make the first move. Then, when the wall that contained the weapons was behind Donnie, Leo took a chance. Leo ran at Donnie with his katanas raised in the air.

Donnie, his eyes grew wide with fear. He took a few steps back before tripping over his own two feet and sent himself smashing into the wall.

" Stop!" Donnie screamed and threw his arms over his head, letting his staff drop to the floor " Please stop!" He began to shake uncontrollably and a small stream of tears rolled down his face. Leo stopped in front of Donnie and dropped his katanas on the floor, horrified.

My heart grew tight in my chest. I felt bad for Donnie. Nobody could ever imagine what he's been through or going through right now. I wanted to run up and comfort Donnie but Splinter put a hand on my shoulder. Stopping me from running to Donnie's aid. Instead, Splinter went to Donnie's rescue and knelt down in front of him.

Splinter put a hand on Donnie's shoulder and waited for him to calm done. When Donnie stopped shaking, he looked up at his father. Splinter whispered something to him that I couldn't quite make out then, he dismissed us.

" Training is cancelled." Splinter told us and we all walked out of the dojo. Leaving just him and Donnie in there.

" Well that was productive." Karai said sarcastically while walking to the couch of the living room. No one had a reply at this time, so we just ignored her comment.

Raph, Mikey and I sat on the couch next to Karai, but Leo went straight to the punching dummy that was hanging from it's own post in the living room.

" What did I do?!" He shouted and threw an angry punch at the dummy. Raph got up and set a reassuring hand on his older brother.

" You didn't do anything." Raph comforted, " Donnie's just-"

" Just what Raph?! Scared? Hurt? What?" Leo snapped. I had a feeling that Leo blamed himself for what happened in the dojo, " I need to know so I can help him!"

" -just, going through some tough times." Raph finished his sentence carefully.

" I thought the tough times were over." Leo hung his head. He was obviously taking this to heart, " I just want this to be over."

" That's what we all want." Raph spoke this time to everyone in the room rather then just directly to Leo. But, that didn't seem to help Leo any because he just brushed Raph away and dragged his feet to his room.

Raph watched Leo walk away for a little while before coming to join us.

" Now what?" Mikey spoke for the first time today.

" I don't know." Raph shrugged sadly.

" Hey guys?" Mikey asked after a moment of silence past, " Wha-what do you think is wrong, with Donnie?" I could tell that Mikey gathered up all the courage inside of his to ask that question.

" Nothings wrong with him." Raph's voice was shaky, he tried to control himself from not snapping, " He's, just, not himself."

" Why not?" Mikey asked another question.

" I don't know Mikey!" Raph snapped, "I don't know."

" I don't get it." Mikey went on, unharmed by Raph's harshness, " one minute he's super hyper and excited, but the next he's like, scared of every single little thing."

" It's gonna take some time for him to get back to his old self." I pointed out.

Mikey turned his head towards me and spoke, " Yeah but two months? Isn't that like, a really long time?"

I didn't respond right away. I actually have no idea how long it would take. Was two month to long? Or not long enough?

" Well, not that this hasn't been fun." Mikey's voice snapped me back to reality, " I'mma gonna go skateboarding. Later!" Mikey announced and picked up his skateboard on his way out of the lair.

As soon as Mikey left, Donnie came out of the dojo. His head was down and he didn't look or speak to anyone. He just kept walking and barricaded himself in his lab.

" At least one thing is back to normal with him." Raph huffed. I hit across the arm then stood up.

" I'll go talk to him." I told them and walked towards the lab. I didn't bother knocking, I just walked right in, sliding the doors closed behind me.

Donnie's lab was lit up with the big lights that hung from the ceiling. So at least he wasn't sitting in the dark. But there were papers and broken pencils scattered everywhere. I've never seen Donnie's lab so messy before.

I took a few steps forward and seen Donnie sitting in his chair at his desk. His head was tilt back and he looked like he was concentrating really hard.

" Donnie?" I called out to him softly.

" Yeah?" He called back without looking at me. He just stayed in the exact position he was in. Staring up at the ceiling.

" Are you okay?" I asked, concerned. I walked right up to him and sat up on his desk. My legs dangled in the air.

" No." He laughed and shook his head, " How could I be?" Donnie stopped staring up and looked directly at me. I could see confusion and anger glowing deep in the centre of his eyes, " What's wrong with me?" His voice cracked as he spoke.

" I don't know." I told him sadly, " Hey Donnie?"

" What?"

" Why are there papers all over the floor?" I asked glancing around.

Something seemed to click in Donnie's eyes and he began looking around the room frantically, like he was just noticing that they were here.

" Um, no reason." Donnie responded quickly and picked up all the papers in a flash, " They're just... stuff, for inventions." Donnie laughed nervously and stuffed all of the papers in the back of a cupboard.

" Yeah uh huh sure." I looked at him doubtingly, " And the broken pencils?"

" Well, you know me. Going through pencils like there's no tomorrow." Donnie made up an excuse and started to pick up the pencils.

I suppressed a heavy sigh and jumped off his desk to help Donnie pick up the pencils. I figured I would postpone any further questions till later. When I jumped off, I noticed that I was sitting on one last piece of paper.

" Huh?" I mumbled as I picked up the paper and read it.

_Get out, Get out, Get out of my head! Go away!_

" Donnie?" I called out to him but my eyes stayed glued to the piece of paper in my hands. This is like the one I seen last night in Donnie's lab, " What's this?"

Donnie bent down to pick up a pencil before turning to look at me. He seen the paper I had in my hand and studied for a moment before his eyes grew wide.

" That's...um...uh...it's uh..." Donnie stuttered, looking for the words to form in his head. I stood there waiting for him to response, but it didn't look like I was going to get one.

_What is he hiding from me?_ I thought to myself.

" Donnie," I began gently and walked right up to him. I set a hand on his shoulder before continuing my question, "What are you hiding? You know you can tell me."

" I know." Donnie sighed frustratedly and pushed my hand off of him. He turned his back to me and folded his arms, "But I can't." When Donnie spoke, he turned his head so I could only see the side of his face.

" Why not?" I questioned, I could hear the desperation in my voice. I couldn't help but notice that Donnie had changed over the past few months, and I couldn't help but wonder if it's my fault. I just want things to go back to the way they were, but that's nearly impossible.

" Because, I'm scared." Donnie almost whispered and let his gaze drop to the floor.

" Scared of what?" I cried and fought back the tears that were rising and threatening to come out, " You know no matter what, I will protect against anything. I will always be here for you. But, I can't help you if you don't tell me whats wrong."

" I'm scared, that...that he'll hurt you." Donnie squeezed his eyes shut as he responded.

" Who will hurt me?!" I nearly yelled but Donnie flinched as I did so I calmed myself down, " Who will hurt me?" I asked again more calmly.

" I can't say." Donnie confessed.

" Why?"

" Because if I tell anyone, he'll hurt them. And...I don't want that." Donnie explained but still didn't dare look at me.

I didn't respond right away. I didn't know what to say or what to do. Donnie won't tell me, so how can I help him? I held the piece of paper in front of my face and studied it some more. _Get out, what could that mean? Who is he talking about?_ Question after question kept appearing in my mind. So I stuffed the paper in my pocket. Donnie never said anything, so I figured I could get away with it.

" But, how will 'he' know that you told me?" I urged on, I wasn't ready to give up, not yet.

" He just will! He's always here, watching. He knows everything that happens!" Donnie cried. I could tell he was really shaken by this. I didn't know what he was talking about. Who is he? What's he talking about? Who is watching?

" Donnie." I whispered gently, " I'm sure what ever it is, we can handle it. We can defeat it together."

" No." Donnie shook his head, " It's not like that."

" Well. What is it like?"

" I can't tell you! Don't you get it? For your own safety I can't tell you anything about him!...please Taylor, I-I just need to think for a while."

I knew that that was Donnie's polite way for asking me to leave. I knew he didn't mean any harm by it, so I decided to respect his wish and I left. Before I walked out the door, I turned around slightly and said...

" If ever you can tell me, I'll be right outside." I hushed then walked out the door. I slid it shut. I walked back to the living room and stood just above the couch.

" So?" Raph wondered. At first I was confused, I didn't know what he meant. But then I realized the whole reason why I went in Donnie's lab was to find out what was wrong. But I never did.

" Oh, right, umm..." I stuttered, at lost for words, " He didn't tell me." I responded. I said didn't tell me instead of couldn't because I figured 'couldn't' would just lead to more questions.

" Well, I guess he really did change. He use to tell you everything." Raph huffed angrily.

" Yeah, I guess so." I mumbled sadly as the horrible realization just sunk in. What if Donnie really had changed?

I sighed before heading to my room. I walked down the dimly lite hall with many thoughts in my mind. Then I pushed my curtain aside and took a seat on my bed. I held my knees close to my chest as I let my mind wander.

_Has Donnie really changed?_ I began to think to myself. _I guess he had, he did change...a lot. Why did he change? I know he's been through a lot, but what made him change? The memory loss? The torture? Our break up?_

I took a sharp breath in as I couldn't help but think if the cause of Donnie's sudden change could be my fault.

_Is it my fault? What if it is? Where did we go wrong? I should have never have let him go, we should have never broke up. If we didn't, then would Donnie be the Donnie I use to know? The Donnie I fell in love with?_

_Is it really our break up that caused him to change? But, it's not my fault, we had to break up. We had to break up, because of my 'inner voice', it's all his, or her's fault!_

I sighed as I tried to convince myself that it was my inner voice's fault, even though it's not. I had the choice, but I chose wrong.

_Should I have taken the chance and start over with him? But then Donnie would have never got his memory back, if we just started over when he wanted too. I wonder if Donnie thinks the same thing I do, does he feel the break up was his fault? Or the fault of...the thing Donnie can't tell me._

_What if the thing Donnie can't tell me. He calls it 'him'. I'm guessing it's a boy, but who is it exactly? Why can't Donnie tell me? Why is he hiding this from me?_

I paused and wiped my hands over my face as I thought,

_But, I'm hiding something from him. My inner voice. I wish I could tell him, but I can't. Is that the same reason why Donnie can't tell me about his secret? I don't want my 'inner voice' to hurt my family, just like Donnie._

_What is going on? I hate this right now. True, life is a bit better since Donnie and I are back together, and that's all I ever wanted. To be with him. But why is life full of secrets. I have a secret, Donnie has a secret, Leo's been acting...angrier, I wonder why that is? Maybe he won't tell us either, that'll add another secret to my list._

_I'm getting really tired of my life right now. I mean, I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I'm just sick and tired of all the secrecy. It's like my life has turned into a series of secrets and questions. And I hate not knowing the answer._

* * *

**And the inner voice is back! See? I told you that you'd see it in my third story. Ta da! Um...not much happened in this chapter and I must warn you that not much will happen in the next few chapters, but they contain really important information. So, hehe. That's all I really have to say. Hoped you enjoyed and please review! :D**


	5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

" Alright guys, this is our first patrol in a long time, and we've haven't had a lot of training lately, so we'll keep it short tonight." Leo explained.

It was about 10:30 at night and we were just about to go out on our first evening patrol of the month. It's been a week since Donnie's dojo incident, but we've pick up training since then. Donnie would just sit out and watch while we train. Sensei doesn't think he's ready yet, so it was a big discussion in convincing Sensei to let Donnie come on patrol.

We stood on a rooftop as Leo explained our root for tonight. We were all listening intensely. Mikey, who was directly in front of Leo was staring at his oldest brother with big round eyes and he was soaking in every word he said even though his face looked like he didn't understand a word he was saying. Raph, who was standing to the right of Mikey and a little ways behind, had his arms crossed and was spinning one of his twin sai in his hand. Donnie was standing to the left and a little bit behind Mikey, he has his BO-Staff out and was leaning on it. Donnie look distracted and was staring at the road. A little glint of fear flickered in his eyes every time a car went by. Then there was me, who was standing in front of Donnie and beside Mikey.

" So we'll start off with a quick trip to TCRI, but we'll keep our distance. Understood? Raph?" Leo said and look sternly at Raph. Raph just grunted in response, "Alright. Then we'll check out Baxter's lab and then the old abandoned Krang warehouse to see what's happening there. Then we'll head back to the lair." Leo concluded, "We ready?"

" Let's do this!" Raph shout enthusiastically and gave one finally spin if his sai before shoving it back into it's protective pouch.

" Yeah, let's go!" I cheered.

" Ready as I'll every be." Donnie tried to sound cheerful.

" Alright let's go!" Leo called and took off. We followed straight after him.

The hot July wind blew through my ponytail and the turtles masks. I couldn't help but smile. It felt good to be out and running again. I forgot how good jumping from roof to roof feels. And within a few rooftops, Mikey called out.

" Booyakashahahaha!" Mikey laughed as he called out to the clear New York sky, " I love this dudes!"

" It does feel good to be out again Mikey." Leo shouted to his younger brother from across a rooftop.

We ran in silence on the roofs of New York city for the rest of the way to TCRI. When we came to our first destination we all skidded to a halt. Except Donnie sort of stumbled to a halt.

" Nice job twinkle toes." Raph noted sarcastically but meant no harm to the statement.

" Ha, funny." Donnie spat back flatly and crouched down on one knee. He bent his leg and had his 'bad' leg extended so he could more pressure on the front one. Donnie pulled out a pair of binoculars from a pouch that he was wearing that wrapped around his neck and over one shoulder.

" See anything Donnie?" Leo questioned, leaning in close to his second youngest brother.

" You gotta let the binoculars focus first Leo." Donnie explained calmly. He was using a pair of binoculars that he made himself. Donnie's binoculars were very high tech, so they had to focus before any visual photo could be seen.

" Fine." Leo replied a bit bitterly and stood back up. That surprised me a little, Leo was usually very patient. I knew something wasn't right.

" Hey guys," Raph spoke up. He was leaning over the edge of the roof we were on, " Look at this!"

All of our eyes were now fixed on the spot Raph was staring at. Near the back entrance of TCRI, a few krang bots were carrying crate after crate out of the building.

" Donnie, can you see what's in the crates?" Leo asked without taking his eyes off of the krang bots.

" On it." Donnie replied simply and focused his binoculars on the crates, " Due to the green aroma the crates are producing, I'd say that their entity are brimming with mutagen canisters."

All three of Donnie's brothers blinked at him in confusion. They had no idea what he just said; I on the other hand did. It wasn't that complicated really.

" Um, english please." Mikey asked and stuck up on of his fingers on his three fingered hand in the air.

Donnie put down his binoculars and sighed, " Since the crates are glowing green, I'd say that their full of mutagen canisters."

" Oooohhh." Leo, Raph and Mikey simultaneously said. Their confusion clearing up as Donnie simplified his prediction.

" Then lets go after them." Raph said with a devilish tone to his voice and got out his sai's. He was about to leap when Leo stopped him with a hand on Raph's shoulder.

" Hold up Raph. We don't know what their going to do with the mutagen. We can't go fight them, remember? We're suppose to stay low tonight." Leo reminded Raph.

" But we've been training for a week." Raph shrugged Leo's hand off as he argued with the leader.

" Not all of us are ready!" Leo countered through gritted teeth. He didn't mean to single anyone out, but we all knew he was talking about Donnie. He has had absolutely no training so far.

" But..." I didn't catch the rest of Raph's sentence. Their arguing faded into the back around as I stared down at Donnie. He was still bent down on one knee staring at his older brothers fighting. The look of sadness on Donnie face made me feel bad. He knew that Leo meant him when he said that not all of them were ready to fight. And every time someone would raise their voice, Donnie would flinch.

" We can't fight them Raph!" Leo shouted for the third time.

" Fine." Raph gave in as he quickly glanced at Donnie. Normally, Raph would have kept arguing, but he seen the look of fear and guilt on Donnie's face and that made him stop, " But I'm at least going to follow them. If you say so or not." Raph declared and ran off.

_**It's a pity to see brothers fight isn't it? **_

A voice called from behind me. I tensed up as a chill ran down my spine. The air around me suddenly got really cold. I spun around, silently hoping that someone was actually behind me and it wasn't who I thought it was. As I turned around, I saw no one there._ Oh no_ I thought to myself, _Not here, not now._

" What do you want?" I muttered under my breath so no one else could hear me.

_**What? I can't just drop by? Check on my friend?** _

" I am anything but your friend!" I spat back, " And can you please change your voice? I hate that you sound like me."

_**Wow, that hurt. Better keep your voice down sweetheart. **_

" Wha-" I whispered to myself, not understanding what my 'inner voice' meant. But that's when I turned back around and looked up. I seen all three turtles staring back at me expectantly.

" Are ya coming?" Mikey asked.

" Uh, yeah. Sorry." I apologized as I burned with embarrassment. _Where were we going?_

" C'mon guys. Raph already got a head start, we don't want to fall behind." Leo pointed out. Anger was bubbling in his voice.

Leo took off and we followed right behind him. We jumped from roof to roof. I was running along side Mikey on a building a bit higher then the one Leo and Donnie were on. But Leo was still ahead of us, so we could still follow him.

" Hey Taylor." Mikey called out to me. I turned my head to look at him.

" Yeah Mikey?"

" Do you think Leo's been acting a bit moody lately?" Mikey shouted to me.

" Yeah." I replied, relieved that I wasn't the only one who noticed Leo's strange behaviour.

" Why do you think that is?" Mikey asked as we jumped down from the roof we were on and onto the one Donnie and Leo were on.

" I don't know." I replied as the conversation ended. Leo was right in front of us and I didn't want him to overhear us talking about his mood. So I decided to concentrate on something else. Donnie was running in front of me so I decided to concentrate on him.

His purple mask was blowing in the hot July air and at the angle I was at, only the white part of his eyes could be seen. Every time he jumped from a roof to another, his mask would fly up in the air. I felt my heart beat fast and hard in my chest. I didn't know if it was from all the running and jumping I was doing or from how much I loved Donnie. He could take my mind off of anything. Good things, bad things, just one look at him, and everything I know would be forgotten.

I kept staring at Donnie until I lost my footing and tripped over the edge of the roof. I was about to let out a scream as I was about to fall to the ground, but my scream got cut short as someone grabbed my hand. I didn't have time to see who is was because within a few seconds, they flipped me up and I landed on the next roof.

I did a forward roll as I landed and stood up to catch my balance. Then I looked back and seen Mikey do a flip in the air before landing on the roof I was standing on. He was out of breath and breathing heavily just as I was.

" You okay?" He asked brightly.

" Yeah." I panted, " Thanks."

" No prob bob." Mikey smiled brightly at me before running off to join his bothers.

I smiled and ran after him.

We came to a halt at the abandoned krang warehouse, that's were we followed the krang too. It worked our well since the warehouse was our next stop on our patrol list.

" Can you see what their doing?" Leo asked Donnie. None of us could see inside the warehouse except for Donnie because he was using the binoculars.

" Nothings happening so far, their just unloading the canisters." Donnie replied and re-focused his binoculars by turning the lenses.

" So much for abandoned." Mikey remarked, " Doesn't that mean that no one suppose to be here? Huh? Doesn't it? Doesn't it? Doesn't it?" Mikey kept repeating himself until someone would answer him. But no one did, " Doesn't it? Doesn't it? Doesn't it?" He continued. Mikey was handing off the edge of the building by his legs, obviously not scared of falling.

Raph let out an annoyed sigh and walked over to Mikey who was still repeating himself. Then, Raph bent down and picked up Mikey by the ankles and was dangling him from the roof. Mikey screamed.

" I swear if you don't freaking shut up, I will drop you." Raph warned angrily.

" Okay I'll stop, just put me down!" Mikey cried and waved his hands frantically in the air.

" Alright...I'll put you down." Raph replied with an evil smirk.

" NO! Don't drop me!" Mikey pleaded as he got what Raph meant by 'putting him down.'

" Guys!" Leo interrupted, " I don't know if you know this, but being a ninja mean being quiet!" Leo whispered harshly.

" Sorry Leo." Mikey whimpered as Raph put him down gently on the roof.

" Uh oh." Donnie's voice piped up.

" What, what is it?" Leo asked urgently.

" The krang are on the move. They've turned a corner in the building and now they're in another room, I can't see them anymore." Donnie reported and put the binoculars back into their brown pouch.

" What do you mean you can't see them? I thought your binoculars were high tech!" Leo spat angrily.

" Sorry if my binoculars can't see through walls." Donnie replied unamused.

" So...now what?" Mikey asked, scratching the back of his head.

" I guess we go back to the lair." Leo explained. Uncertainty hinted in his voice.

" Wait what about Baxter's lab?" Raph questioned, folding his arms.

" Is it really necessary to go there now?" Mikey asked with curiosity, " It's getting kinda late."

Leo sighed and wiped his hands over his face in exhaustion. We were all tired, but the patrol was unfinished. We just took longer then we thought we would.

" We'll do a quick trip to Baxter's, then straight home." Leo concluded, " Let's go." And with that last demand, we all took off in the direction of Stockman's lab.

We were running well, and all was going fine until I started to hear Donnie grunt every time we landed on a roof. This was about halfway to Baxter's. Then a few minutes later, I heard Donnie let out a little shriek and then a thud followed.

We all stopped when we heard Donnie's shriek. All of us except for Leo that is, he was a few roofs ahead and must of not heard it.

Mikey and I walked over to Donnie who seemed to have fallen on the rooftop we were on. He was on his knees and his arms were extended out in front of him to keep himself up.

" Hey Leo! Hold Up!" Raph shouted then came to join Mikey and I by Donnie.

" What is it now?" Leo called back, annoyed. But then his eyes widen when he seen Donnie on the floor, " Oh, Donnie." I heard Leo's faint voice call. Then he came running over to us," Donnie you okay?" Leo asked sympathetically. This was the first time all night Leo's voice sounded genuinely nice.

" Yeah, I'm-" Donnie began then grunted as he tired to get up. Mikey immediately jumped to Donnie's aid and took his hand to help him up, "fine." Donnie finished his sentence and shot a thankful glance at Mikey.

" What happened?" Raph wondered. He sounded scared for his little brother.

" Um, my leg...just, gave out...on me." Donnie's voice soften as he spoke shyly. A reddish glow came to his cheeks, I could tell that Donnie was really embarrassed, " But I'm fine now."

We all stared at Donnie unconvinced.

" What?" Donnie wondered.

" Donnie, are you sure your ready to come on patrol?" Leo asked the question everyone was wondering all night.

" Yeah, I'm fine. I just landed wrong, that's all."

" Did you want to head back?" Leo offered. We were all concerned for Donnie, all scared that he came on patrol before he was ready.

" No," Donnie said with hostility, " I'm fine." Sternness was edged to Donnie's voice as he said he was fine for the third time.

" I'm mean Donnie, if you feel like you can't-" Leo ignored Donnie's last comment and continued with his offer.

" I said I'm fine!" Donnie shouted and ran off. He headed for Stockman's lab.

We all exchanged worried glances. No one knew when Donnie would go back to his old self, but we all hoped it will be some time soon. Donnie's been having major personality switches. One minute he's happy and excited about everything, then the next he's like a scared little puppy. Some other times Donnie turns from happy to scared to mad, then sometimes Donnie acts weird. Like he isn't sane any more. He only ever did that around me. It's like there something in his eyes that clicks and he acts all weird, then his eyes clicks again and it's like he just realized I was there.

I gave my head a shake when I realized that I got caught up in my thoughts and the turtles were already jumping after Donnie. I was about to take off when something stopped me.

_**Where you going? **_

I froze along with the air around me.

_**What's the matter? **_

" What do you want now?" I asked my inner voice, " Haven't you had enough of me yet?"

_**Believe me, I've had enough of you since the moment we met.**_ My inner voice informed me.

" Met? Like face to face?" I questioned. Was I actually getting somewhere with my inner voice problem?

_**Uh, no. I-I'm in your head. Remember? **_

" It's hard to forget when you keep reminding me." I restored.

My inner voice didn't respond. But I knew it wasn't gone, it was still cold around me.

" What do you want?" I asked for a second time.

_**Just checking in. How's your turtle friend?**_ My inner voice had a mischievous tone to it's voice. What was it up to?

" You mean Donnie?" I wondered.

_**Yeah, where is he?**_

" I thought you know and see everything. And could you please stop sounding like me?"

_**You already asked me that tonight, and since I still sound like you, what do you think my answer is?**_

" No?" I asked the obvious.

_**Hmm, smart girl. So, how is Donnie?**_

" Why do you want to know?" I asked, frightened by the devilish tone in it's voice.

_**I'm just wondering. Wondering if he's okay. **_

" Why wouldn't he be?" Panic started to rise in my voice. I knew that it likes to play nasty tricks on me. Could this be one?

_**I dunno... **_

" What are you planing?" I started to shout.

**Who says I'm planning anything?** My inner voice suddenly sounded like it was behind me.

" What are you going to do to Donnie? You stay away from him!" I shouted and spun around, slashing out my arm hoping to hit something. I was hoping for some reason I would be able to see my inner voice, but I still can't.

_**Still no weapon? Some Kunoichi you are.**_ My inner voice huffed.

" Just stay away from Donnie! Stay away from me!" I screamed and took off, hoping to leave my inner voice behind. But the cool air followed me.

_**There's no escape from me Taylor. I can follow you any where you go. **_

" Get away! Get out!" I screamed. I couldn't take this much longer. I needed to escape my inner voice, but I didn't know how.

_**Hey, you need to be nice to me.**_

" Get out!" I screamed louder and raked my nails down my head as I ran.

_**I can make this happen.**_ My inner voice laugh evilly. Then the sound of snapping fingers rang through my ears and my vision clouded with red. I stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn't see anything but the terrifying colour of blood.

Then suddenly I was transported into the dojo.

_Oh no!_ I thought to myself._ Not this again!_ I knew exactly what was going to happen. My inner voice sent me my vision again. I was standing in the blood red dojo and I seen the same thing as last time. Splinter, Leo, Raph, and Mikey's dead corpses on the floor with their blood on my hands. Then in the corner was Donnie screaming my name. He was dying right in front of my eyes and I couldn't get to him. I knew if I ran, everything would fade into blackness and Donnie would be ripped from my sight. I knew this vision all too well. So I just stood there watching everyone bleed out.

" I'm sorry." I called out to my inner voice. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't bare to just stand here, but if I moved, I knew I couldn't save them. So either way, I was useless, helpless, " Please, get me out of here." I cried and shut my eyes tightly. I never wanted to look at this scene ever again.

_**Had enough of it?**_ My inner voice called out to me. It was really disturbing how it was my voice, talking to me.

" Yes!" I screamed, " Please, take it away!" I yelled as I heard Donnie's wounded voice call out to me. I didn't dare open my eyes. I tired to drown out Donnie's desperate cries of help, him calling my name over and over again.

**Open your eyes.**

I forced my eyes open just as my inner voice told me too. I was back on the roof top, completely unharmed. There was no blood, no screaming. Just the sounds of cars passing by late on the streets of New York. I breathed a breath of relief. That's when I realized the air around me was no longer cold, but burning hot. My inner voice left me alone, for now at least.

I started to run again. I ran all the way to Stockman's lab and found the turtles crouch on the roof.

" Hey guys." I greeted them, out of breath.

" Taylor, where were you?" Raph wondered. They all blinked at me with the same question in their eyes. But Donnie looked most concerned.

" I was um..." I realized that I hadn't come up with an excuse, " When I realized you guys left," I began, " I um tried to find you. But took a wrong turn."

" Oh." They all shrugged and went back to looking at Baxter's lab.

" So what's happening?" I asked and crouched down with them.

" Nothing so far. I think we might call it a night soon." Leo informed me and stood up, putting his hands on his hips.

" Good." Mikey stood up as well and a huge yawn escaped from his mouth, " I'm beat."

" Yeah, I could use a good rest." Raph stood up and stretched.

" Alright, let's go home." Leo concluded with a smile then took off. Raph and Mikey followed quickly behind him.

Now only Donnie and I were left on the roof. I stood up and Donnie stood up right after me.

" Ready to go?" I asked, trying not to let my voice shake. I was still pretty freaked out from my vision.

" Yeah." Donnie responded simply but his eyes said that he had something else to say, " Hey Taylor?" Donnie began.

" Yes?" I asked, trying to sound cheerful.

" Are you alright?" Donnie asked with pure concern and worry.

Donnie. He always knew when something was up, when something was wrong with me.

" Yeah, I'm good." I gave a hard swallow. Just looking at Donnie made me picture him lying on the dojo floor covered in blood. I shook my head to snap myself back to what was real, and what was just a vision.

Donnie didn't look convinced.

" You know if there's something wrong, you can tell me." Donnie half quoted me from earlier this week, when I tried to figure out what Donnie was hiding from me. I still had no idea. And now that piece of paper I had stuffed in my pocket was sitting under my pillow.

" I know." I patted Donnie's chest with my hands, " And if there was something wrong, you'd be the first to know." I reassured him. It wasn't completely a lie. If I was going to tell someone about my inner voice, it would be Donnie.

" Okay." Donnie smiled at me, " Let's go back to the lair."

I smiled back at him before we took off, running back to the lair. With the moon at our backs, I followed Donnie all the way back home.

* * *

**We're finally getting somewhere! Sorry that this chapter is kinda long...oops :D. Hoped you are enjoying my story so far, please review to tell me what you think. Thanks! :)**


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

" Happy Birthday!" Leo, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Lily, John and Karai all shouted simultaneously as I emerged from my room and into the living room. I was still in my PJ's and my hair was messy from sleep. I jumped as the all cried out happy birthday.

" Guys, I told you I didn't want a birthday party." I reminded them with amusement in my voice. Although I didn't want a party, it was sweet of them to throw me one.

" You do like it though, right?" Mikey asked.

I looked around the living room to see party decorations hung every where. There were multi coloured streamers hanging from the ceiling and the little ledge off of the sewer wall. Next, there were helium filled balloons weighed down with rocks at the end of each string. Some were floating up on the ceiling, and others were circling the perimeter of the living room. On the wall, hung a banister that said Happy Sweet Sixteen Taylor! And last, there was a pile of presents in the corner of the room.

" We wanted to make this a really special birthday. Since you never told us when your 15th birthday came." Mikey reminded me. This was the first time the turtles celebrated my birthday. I never told them when I turned 15 because I don't like birthday parties. And knowing the turtles, they would have thrown me one.

" Yeah, I love it." I smiled as I realized what I was missing out on, " This is great, thanks guys."

" Oh and the best part is..." Mikey began but ran to the kitchen before finishing his sentence. Leaving me in question. When Mikey returned, he was carrying a breakfast tray, " We made you breakfast!" He announced excitedly.

" Aww, guys. You didn't have to do that." I told them.

" It was nothing." John said, " Now sit down and eat some breakfast."

I did as I was told and sat down. Mikey placed my breakfast tray on my lab and went to get the rest of the breakfast, for the other guys I mean. I looked down at my tray and inspected my breakfast. There were two pancakes stacked on top one other and on the top pancake, written in whipped cream, said 'happy b-day.' Next to the pancakes sat a little glass bowl full of fresh cut up strawberries. Also, there was a little bottle of maple sirup and to top it off, in the cup holder there was a nice tall glass of milk.

" This looks delicious." I stated astonished, " Did you guys really make this?"

" Yup." Lily smiled happily and took a bit of her pancakes. Mikey had brought everyone a plate of pancakes and a drink. We were all sitting on the wrap around couch, eating the morning meal.

" Mikey did most of the cooking though." Lily continued.

" Yeah I can tell." I said through a mouth full of pancakes.

" What's that suppose to mean?" Raph asked, pretending to be hurt.

" C'mon you guys all know that out of all of us, Mikey is the best cook. And these pancakes are amazing!" I told them. I wasn't afraid of offending anyone, because they all knew it was true.

" What can I say? I am amazing." Mikey shrugged and laughed happily. Then he stuck out his hand, put the other across his chest and while sitting down, he took a bow. We all applauded for fun.

After breakfast was done, the guys were the ones who cleaned up. They told me to sit down and relax. I've never got any kind of this treatment on any of my other birthdays, usually I have to clean.

" So what do we do now?" I asked. I was sitting comfortably on the couch with my hands behind my head.

All of them exchanged a mischievous glance then looked at me.

" What?" I asked, getting kinda scared.

" Well, we have the whole day planned out." Mikey began to explain, " Leo, Raph, Donnie, Karai and John are gonna take you out somewhere, while me and Lily..."

" Lily and I." I interrupted just out of habit. It bugs me when people, or turtles, use bad grammar.

" Right." Mikey responded unamused but then brightened up once he began to explain again, " While Lily and _I _stay home and make you your cake."

" Okay, sounds cool." I told them, " What do you guys have planned?"

" It's a surprise." John announced.

" Shall we go?" Raph asked, his tone had a little bit of excitement to it.

" Okay." I laughed a little as I responded.

We got up off the couch and Leo took the lead. Followed by Raph, then John walking beside Karai and then Donnie and I were at the end.

" Bye!" I waved goodbye to Mikey and Lily before I left the lair and went into the sewer halls.

As we left the lair, we all walked in silence for a few minutes. You could feel the awkward tension growing between everyone. That was until I looked at Donnie, and he looked back at me. The tension just faded away into the background.

" Happy birthday." Donnie whispered to me and gave me a toothy grin.

" Thanks. So, do I get to see my surprise you made me today?" I whispered back to him.

" Yeah. After dinner and cake. That's when I get you to myself."

" hm, I can't wait." I smiled and brushed up against his arm. Then he took his hand in mine and we walked hand in hand until we came to a stop.

" Okay, we're here." Leo stopped walking and turned around to face us. Then Raph and Karai turned around so they could see Donnie and myself. We formed a little circle in the sewers.

" Okay, so what's the surprise?" I urged on, getting excited.

" We're gonna play a game." Leo announced.

I looked at him puzzled, " What kind of game?"

" Ninja kakurenbo." Donnie responded in Japanese.

" What?" I asked again.

" It's basically ninja hide'n'seek." Raph told me the english version of the game.

" Ohhh." I exasperated, " Okay. Sounds fun."

" Hold on. Ninja kakurenbo is a bit different from normal hide'n'seek." Leo warned, " There's different rules." Leo then gestured to Donnie.

" Right." Donnie began, " For example, You need to split up into teems of two. Then you spread yourselves out all around the sewer. You can go anywhere. And you try to stay hidden for as long as you can. Now you can keep moving when ever you want, like if you see the hunting/seaking team, you might wanna run. So anyway, the seeking team actually has to find and catch you, then bring you back to home base. Then they split up, one goes to find the rest of the teams, and the other stays and guards the captured team. Now the captured team can try to escape again, but they only get one try, if they fail, they must stay at home base for good. The seeking/hunting team wins if they capture everyone, if they don't, last team standing or in this case hiding, wins!"

" Wow, okay that's a lot more complicated then my hide'n'seek games as a kid." I laughed nervously.

" So what are the teams?" Raph asked, his patients growing short.

" How about Raph and I go together, " Leo suggested, " Then John and Karai, and last Taylor and Donnie."

" Whoa whoa whoa hold up." John piped up, " Leo and Raph? Two ninja turtles on the same team? Is that really fair?"

" No not really." Karai huffed.

" Look, there's three humans, and three turtles. How about we each get one?" John suggested his idea.

" Okay." I agreed and then they all agreed after me.

" Well, Taylor and Donnie obviously want to go together." Raph pointed out, I nodded my head in agreement, " So I guess I'll take John." Raph said without thinking.

" So, I guess it's you and me Leo." Karai said. Did she sound nervous?

" Yeah. So it is." Leo shrugged, pretending that nothing was wrong with this.

" So whose the seeking team?" I asked.

" We'll hunt!" Raph stuck his hand straight up in the air. Clearly he liked hunting.

" I guess so." John shrugged along.

" Alright you guys have a minute." Raph said excitedly and turned to hide his eyes against the wall. John copied Raph's actions.

" Let's go." Leo told Karai and they took off at lightening speed.

" Ready?" Donnie wondered and looked at me. I nodded, then we took off in the opposite direction.

We ran at ninja speed for a few seconds until we were a little ways from Raph and John. We slowed our paste a bit to catch our breaths.

" So where do you want to go?" I asked. I had no idea where to hide.

" I have an idea." Donnie told me, " hop on my back."

" What?" I stared at him puzzled.

" Just do it, I have a place in mind but it's kinda hard to get too." Donnie explained quickly and stepped in front of me. His back was now to my face.

" Are you sure." I asked cautiously as I approached him, " I don't want to hurt you." ..._Again_. I added silently in my head.

" Yes I'm sure, now hop on." Donnie urged.

I obeyed him and got on his back.

" Hold on tight." He instructed.

" Okay." I responded and tightened my grip around his neck.

Then Donnie charged at the sewer wall and jumped off of it. He landed on the other side of the sewer for a split second then bounced off of that wall as well, climbing higher in the air each time we jumped. Then with one last jump on a wall, Donnie did a back flip and flung himself in the air. He went rocketing up to the ceiling and Donnie gripped onto the ceiling pipes. Then he flung himself over the pipes and we rested on top of them.

" Donnie, this is amazing." I whispered and got off of his back. I crouched on the pipes beside him.

" I know, I'm the only one who knows what's up here. Everyone thinks these pipes are attached straight on the ceiling. They don't know that there's a little extra space." Donnie whispered back to me.

" How did you find this place?" I asked and laid flat on my stomach.

" I was wondering around in the sewers one day, and you know...curiosity I guess. You just got to take chances sometimes." Donnie shrugged and laid flat on his stomach as well.

We sat in silence for a minute. I had my arms crossed out in front of me and I laid my head on them. Donnie was in the same position as me. We enjoyed each other's silence until footsteps were approaching.

Donnie peeked over the pipe we were laying on to see who was coming. I felt him tense up and then he hid himself back on the pipe.

" Who-" I began but Donnie put one of his hands on the back of my head and the other of my mouth. Absolutely no sound was made by either of us.

" Ugh! We're never gonna find anyone!" I heard John's voice echo in the hall. I now knew why we had to be quiet.

" Not if you keep this noise up." Raph growled and smacked John on the back of his head.

" Ow."

Raph chuckled at Johns pain.

I let myself giggle a little bit through Donnie's hand. But when I realized I made noise, I froze.

" Did you hear that?" Raph asked and the sound of his footsteps stop. I could tell that they were right below us.

" No." John huffed, still upset about the head smacking. I pictured him rubbing the back of his head.

" Well your not a ninja." Raph pointed out. I could picture him looking around the sewer frantically, " C'mon, this way." Raph ordered and I heard their footsteps getting farther and farther away. Until they couldn't be heard anymore.

" Okay, They're gone." Donnie sighed and took his hand off of my mouth and head, " Sorry about that." He apologized.

I smiled in response, " That's okay. Sorry about laughing."

" It's alright," Donnie responded then paused for a moment, " We should get moving." He concluded and jumped off the pipe.

I looked over the edge of the pipe and saw how high I actually was. You never realize how high the sewer ceilings are until your actually that high yourself.

" You can do this." I whispered to myself and exhaled softly. I sat myself over the edge of the pipe and took one final glance down. Donnie was waiting patiently for my at the bottom. He was looking up and smiling at me. That gave me a boost of confidence, so I squeezed my eyes shut and jumped down.

" Nice jump." Donnie congratulated me. I opened my eyes and blinked up at him. I had landed on my feet, crouched down.

" Yeah." I said while exhaling and wiping off the dust on my shirt, " Thanks."

Donnie smiled slightly and nodded in response. Then without words, we headed off again. In the opposite direction that Raph and John went in. We ran for a few minutes, our arms extended behind us. After a good ten minutes of running, Donnie came to a stop and so did I.

" Want to rest?" He asked me.

" Sure. Where do you think Leo and Karai are?" I asked as I was bent over, hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath.

" Shh. Do you hear that?" Donnie shushed me. His eyes were searching frantically around the hall.

I strained to listen, then I heard it. Foot steps were coming our way. But there were many of them.

" To answer your question.." Donnie began, " I'm guessing right behind us."

I turned around to see that around the corner, Leo and Karai were running towards us with Raph and John hot on their tails.

" Run!" Donnie shouted and grab my hand. We took off running together. I was still short on breath last time we sprinted so I was already panting, " Keep moving!" Donnie encouraged.

I looked in his direction and smiled. Then I looked behind us and Leo and Karai were rapidly approaching us, along with Raph and John.

" How did they get here so fast?!" I shouted as we turned a corner and kept running like our life depended on it.

" C'mon John, we almost got'em!" I heard Raph's voice shout.

" I'm going as fast as I can!" John spat back.

I was getting pretty tired pretty fast. I didn't know how much longer I could keep going, as Leo and Karai were only a few feet away from passing us. That's when I thought of something.

" Hey Donnie?"

" Yeah?"

" Our we aloud to defend ourselves?" I asked, hoping the answer would be yes, so my plan would work.

" We're not aloud fighting each other if that's what you mean." He answered, confused.

" Are we aloud strategies?" I wondered. My plan didn't involve any fighting.

" Yeah. Why?"

" I have an idea." I told him.

" Okay, what is it!" He shouted. The fast paste footsteps were drowning out our voices.

" On my cue, turn around and run in the opposite direction..." I began to explain.

" What?! Are you insane?" Donnie shouted back and interrupted me.

" Just trust me." I told him before continuing, " After a few steps, get ready to tuck and roll." I explained the rest of my plan. It was like a light bulb lite up in Donnie's eyes as he understood where I was going with this.

" Okay, but we need to get a little more ahead of Leo and Karai." Donnie pointed out. I nodded along and we started to run faster. We turned another corner and succeeded in putting distance between Leo and Karai from us.

" Ready?" I asked.

" Ready." Donnie agreed. I mouthed the words '1, 2, 3' and on three we turned around. We charged at Leo and Karai, their eyes widen with horror and confusion, then we hit the ground. We both tucked ourselves in a little ball and did some forward rolls. As we rolled, we tripped Leo and Karai, then Raph and John right after. When we heard four thumps on the ground, Donnie and I stopped rolling.

I turned around and saw Leo, Karai, Raph, and John all laying on the ground, not knowing what hit them. Then I turned in Donnie's direction. He was crouched on one knee and was smiling brightly at me, showing his missing tooth. I smiled back at him and got up. Then I offered my hand and helped him up too.

" That was awesome!" Donnie said and high fived me.

" Thanks, let's get going before they get up." I told him and we took off again.

As we ran, Donnie and I continued to talk.

" That was brilliant Taylor." Donnie congratulated me again, " By tripping both Leo, Karai, Raph and John, not only did you stall the hunting team, but also put us at an advantage by tripping the other hiding team. Therefor giving the hunting team a chance of catching them, instead of us."

" That was the plan." I shrugged along, glad that Donnie figured out my plan. After all, great minds think alike.

" Now that Raph and John are only gonna be looking for us, wanna hide on top of the pipes again?" Donnie suggested.

" Sure." I agreed and stopped running. Donnie stopped beside me and picked me up. He was carrying me in his arms like a princess. I pressed my head close to his chest, breathing in his scent.

" Ready?" He asked me.

" Yeah." I replied absentmindedly.

" Ally-oup!" Donnie said and jumped from wall to wall again. Then he shifted me in his arms and I was now sitting on one of his arms and had my arms wrapped around his neck while his other arm clung to the pipes on the ceiling.

I reached up and grabbed a hold of a pipe and lifted myself up and on top of the pipes. Donnie followed and was sitting beside me. We both laid down on our backs with our heads resting on our hands and elbows extended. But they weren't hanging over the edge, so we weren't visible in any direction.

After a few moments of silenced past between us, I started the conversation.

" This is nice." I half whispered half talked.

" Yeah." Donnie agreed then added playfully, " This is fun. Just you and me, on the run."

" You make it sound like we're criminals." I joked and pushed him slightly. Silence fell over us again. It was a peaceful quietness. I glanced over at Donnie, he was staring up at the ceiling, deep in his own thoughts. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in his brain, what he's thinking.

" Donnie." I began nervously. I wanted to ask him something, that might be a bit uncomfortable for him.

" Yeah?" He responded without looking at me. He was unaware of what I was about to ask.

" Are you scared?" I blurted out.

" Of what?" He wondered, confused.

" Of-" I began but he interrupted me.

" The surface? I was, but I kinda got over that." He responded simply.

" That's not what I mean." I said flatly. I knew now Donnie knew what I meant, he just didn't want to admit it.

" I know." He sighed but said nothing after that. I guess I would have to be the one to say it.

" Are you scared of forgetting?" I asked a sensitive question to him, " Again?"

Donnie's breath became a bit shaky as he exhaled softly, " You can keep a secret, right?'

" Of course." I assured him. I looked over at him, my head now fully turned in his direction. But he didn't turn to face me.

" Honestly? I'm terrified." Donnie confessed. I seen hurt and fear twinkle in his eyes. I could tell he was remembering horrible memories of the past, his past.

" Yeah..." I whispered softly, I was barely able to hear myself. I was scared of offending Donnie if I said anything more. I too, was scared of Donnie losing his memory again. I don't even know why I asked that question.

" But." Donnie added, " I'm not as scared as I would be if we didn't have our promises." Donnie turned his head and faced me. He had a sweet smile on his face. Now happiness glowed in his eyes, but deep in them, I seen a flicker of longing. Or desire. He wanted to tell me something, but what?

" I'm glad we have our promises too." I smiled gently back at him. I felt my heart swell up inside me, I'm always so happy when I'm with Donnie. He is the love of my life.

" Yeah. Like how I promised that you are truly unforgettable." He said his promise to me and nuzzled his nose against mine.

" And how I promised to let nothing hurt you, ever again." I said my promise to him. My eyes were beginning to get teary.

" And how we promised..." Donnie began the sentence and I finished it.

" ...to never leave each other's side."

" I love you so much." Donnie whispered to me then leaned over and kissed me.

I kissed him back and responded, " I love you too."

After about five seconds of kissing. I slid closer to him and he took me in his arms. I rested my hands on his chest and pressed close to him. _I love my Donnie,_ I thought to myself, _I love him so much._

" I wish this moment could last forever." I whispered more to myself then Donnie. But he heard me anyway.

" Me too." Donnie smiled and kissed the top of my head.

As Donnie spoke, my heart melted inside me. Donnie used the words, our words. 'Me too' was probably the sentence that meant the most to me and Donnie. It has so much meaning behind it. 'Me too' is mine and Donnie's special phrase, our phrase that means so much to the both of us. 'Me too' were the words Donnie and I used to confess our love for each other, those are the words that started it all.

I didn't know how long Donnie and I spent cuddling up on the pipes, but for however long, it wasn't long enough. Because within a few moments, I heard Raph's angry voice echo through the sewer.

" That's it! I give up! Donnie! Taylor! Were the heck are you guys!?"

As Raph shouted, I felt Donnie jump. He might not be scared of the surface anymore, but he is still really jumpy. And honestly, I don't blame him. Not one bit.

" Do we give our location away?" I asked him and stroked his chest gently.

" I guess so. We win." Donnie shrugged. We both sat up and jumped down, " It sounds like Raph's just around the corner." Donnie pointed out.

" He's not gonna be happy about that." I laughed and began walking. Donnie followed and we walked down the hall and around the corner. And soon enough, we were right. Raph and John were standing around clueless of where we were hiding.

" Hey guys!" I waved as we walked around the corner and stood right in front of them.

" Oh come on! We were so close!" John wave his hands dramatically in the air then let them drop to his sides.

" Where the heck were you guys!?" Raph screamed.

Donnie and I exchanged playful glances. Both thinking the same thing.

" We can't tell you that." Donnie shook his head and laughed slightly.

" Yeah, we might hide there next time we play this game." I added.

" Fine. Let's just go back home." Raph grumbled angrily and stomped off. John just stared at us suspiciously for a moment longer then shrugged and ran after Raph. Donnie and I looked at each other then shared a moment of laughter. It was nice to just let all my worries just slip away for once and laugh.

As we walked back to the lair, we passed by our game's home base. Leo and Karai were still standing there. Raph and John passed by them angrily and continued to the lair. But Donnie and I stopped to greet them.

" So you guys won?" Karai huffed.

" Is that so hard to believe?" I asked, a little offended by her tone.

" No," She shrugged, " It's just weird how two highly trained martial artiste could lose to, well...you guys." I knew Karai was only joking, but still, it was a little harsh.

" Ha, funny Karai." Donnie responded, unamused.

Karai gave a pleased smile to both of us, then started walking. Donnie, Leo and myself started walking as well. But we walked in silence. I was walking between Leo and Donne and the tension in the air was strong. I could tell that something was wrong with Leo. He's been acting strange lately, I just didn't know why.

" Hey Leo, you okay?" I asked softly, not wanting to raise my voice to high.

" I'm fine." Leo grunted. He didn't have me convinced, he sounded as if he could snap at any moment.

I opened my mouth to protest, but closed it again as Karai turned around and called out to us.

" Hey! Why ya walking so slow? Getting old are we?" She teased, even though Karai is older then me. Karai is 16 like the rest of us, but she's a few months older then I am.

" Hey, you need to be nice to me!" I called back to her as she turned back around, " It's my birthday."

" Huh." Leo grunted harshly. Donnie and I both looked at him with surprised looks. Leo wasn't usually this harsh._ What's up with him?_

" Leo?" I began expectantly, I wanted to know what was going on. And I was going to find out.

" What?!" Leo stopped walking, turned to face me and shouted.

" What's with the grunt?" I asked, surprised yet again by Leo's harshness.

" What? Am I not aloud to grunt, little miss perfect life?!" Leo screamed.

" What are you talking about?" I wondered.

" Your life is perfect! You have Donnie, your happy! But oh no, somebody suddenly insults you and then your life is so hard! You don't know how easy you have it!" Leo shouted at me.

I stared in horror at him. I didn't think that at all. Karai and I were just joking around. Why was Leo taking this so seriously? And plus,my life is far from perfect. Leo, or anybody, just doesn't know it.

" Leo, dude." Donnie suddenly stepped in between me and him, " C'mon it's her birthday. What's the matter with you?"

" What's the matter with me?" Leo sounded shocked as he shouted in surprise, " What's the matter with you!?" Leo pointed his finger at Donnie as he shouted.

Donnie took a step back, surprised at Leo.

" I mean your scared of everything!" Leo continued to shout at Donnie, " Every single little thing makes you jump! When are you gonna go back to your old self Donnie? Huh? Try answering that! And your crazy mood swings! What's wrong with you! It's like your never gonna get better!" Leo yelled probably the meanest thing hes ever said. Nobody, and I mean nobody ever mentioned Donnie's weird mood swings or strange fears. We all knew that it was some kind of result from his memory loss and torture.

Donnie took another step away from Leo's accusing finger. His eyes were wide with hurt. It wasn't Donnie's fault he was like this. We all knew it was going to take some time for him to get back to normal, if he ever does. But, I guess Leo finally snapped.

" And another thing!" Leo began but this time I stepped in and threw a protective hand across Donnie. I couldn't let this go on any longer. This wasn't the kind and understanding Leo we all know. And I don't know where that Leo is. I just know he's not here now. I've never seen this side of Leo before.

" Leonardo that's enough!" I screamed at him. I used his full name to show how angry I was with him.

Leo just stared at me in shock. Then he looked down at his own hands, terrified. He look as if he just realized what he said and what he done. Then he glanced up at Donnie. A face of pure hurt was glued upon Donnie's face. Leo then looked back at me before turning and running away. He ran past Karai, past Raph and John, who were way down the hall. He ran all the way back to the lair.

I turned and face Donnie. He looked down at me, tears were in his eyes and looked like he could burst out crying at any moment. There were so much hurt glowing from his eyes, it brought pain in my chest. I couldn't believe Leo, and neither could Donnie.

" Is it true? What Leo said about me?" Donnie looked away from me and shut his eyes tightly. A light stream of tears ran down his cheeks.

" Uh-" I opened my mouth to speak but Donnie let out a sob before I could from any words.

" I knew it. I know I changed, but...I'm never gonna get better, am I?" Donnie asked. He was beyond hurt now.

" No!" I blurted out. Anger was bubbling inside of me, how could Leo have said that? " You are going to get better."

" It's been two months. How long is it going to take." Donnie nearly whispered.

" I don't know," I confessed, " But you will get better. I-I mean, you are better. Your-"

" Don't lie to me Taylor." Donnie interrupted me, " I'm not the same as I was once before."

" I don't care!" I shouted, Donnie flinched then got mad at himself for proving Leo right, " I love you all the same! No matter how you act."

Donnie looked at me with tears in his eyes. He remained speechless. I could tell he was dying to ask me something.

" Taylor." Donnie hushed, " Who did you love more, this me or the me who couldn't remember you?" Donnie asked his burning question.

" I-I," I stuttered. How was I suppose to answer this? If I said that I loved this Donnie more, then it seems like I didn't love the forgetful Donnie, when he lost his memory he acted like when I first met him. If I say I loved that Donnie more, it makes it seem like I don't love the Donnie now. Honestly, I love them both. But I knew Donnie wasn't going to except that answer.

" Hey guys?" Raph approached us before I could answer. Donnie quickly blinked away the tears and stared back at the red masked turtle, " I just seen Leo run back to the lair. What happened?"

" Uh..." I began, at lost for words, " Just a little argument."

" Oh?" Raph still looked confused but I gave him a hard glare, warning him not to ask any more questions. Raph seemed to have got the hint, and just walked away. Donnie and I followed him, we walked all the way back to the lair in silence.

When Donnie and I stood in the entrance, I told him that I was going to go talk to Leo. He nodded and then walked away from me. He was obviously still hurt from what Leo had said.

I waved to him then headed for Leo's room, where I suspected he would be. And I was right. I could hear Leo mumbling to himself on the other side of his curtain. I knocked on the wall and called out his name.

" Leo?"

" What?" He called back from inside his room. He sounded as if he had calmed down.

" Can I come in?" I wondered.

"...I guess..." He replied shakily.

Without saying another word I pushed his curtain aside and shut it again behind me. Then I walked over and sat on his bed beside him. He was sitting at the head of his bed, by his pillow. His knees were pressed up against his chest and his cheeks were stained with tears. He had been crying too.

" Leo, what happened?" I asked as nicely as I could. I didn't want my anger to get the best of me. Even though I did feel like punching Leo in the face for hurting Donnie so bad, I held myself back. I knew Leo wasn't himself.

" I-I don't know." He admitted and laid his head down on his arms.

" What's wrong?" I urged on, determined to get to the bottom of this.

" I think I'm going crazy." Leo confessed.

_Going crazy?_ I though to myself. _Is he hearing voices in his head too?_

" It's Karai..." Leo continued, " It's driving me crazy, knowing that I can't have her anymore. I hate that shes Miwa." Leo paused and took a deep breath in to calm himself down, " I love her so much Taylor," He sobbed, " I love her."

A pang a sympathy shot through me like lightening. I felt so bad for Leo, at least I know that I can be with the one I love. There's no brother-sister relationship between Donnie and I. And I am forever grateful for that.

" Leo," I began sympathetically, " I don't know what to say. I-I think you should talk to Splinter about this. It seems like shes really getting to you."

" You think so?" Leo looked up at me in question.

" Yeah, Splinter will know what to do." I comforted him in the best way I could. So I took Leo in my arms and let him cry.

" Taylor?" Leo called my name between his sobs.

" Yes Leo?" I said gently and stroked the back of his head.

" I'm sorry about earlier."

" Is it me you think you should be apologizing too?" I asked as we both knew the answer.

" No," Leo agreed with me, " Do you th-think you could-d go get him for me?"

" Of course." I told him. I got off of his bed and walked out of Leo's room. I walked down the hall and into the living room.

" Donnie." I called out to Donnie who was sitting on the couch beside Raph. He looked up at me expectantly, " Leo wants to talk to you."

Donnie's first reaction was shock. He thought Leo hated him, but then the shock faded and he stood up. I watch Donnie walk all the way to Leo's room and I didn't take my eyes off of him until he entered Leo's room and was out of sight.

" What happened with them?"Raph asked as I flopped down on the couch beside him.

" It's a long story..." I told them. I didn't want to tell Raph what actually happened because I know he would beat Leo to the ground.

" Why is that not surprising?" Karai puffed from the other side of the couch.

" That it's a long story?" John questioned and gave Karai a confused looked.

" Never mind." Karai shook her head and smiled at the ground.

" Hey what time is it?" I asked, changing the subject, " I'm starving."

" It's about, 11:50!" Mikey called from the kitchen. He must of heard me form where I was sitting.

" Thanks Mikey!" I shouted back, " Well, I'mma gonna go get some lunch." I got up off the couch and started to make my way towards the kitchen. I only took a few steps before Mikey came out of the kitchen screaming.

" NO! You can't!"

" Why not?" I wondered, taken aback by Mikey's sudden burst.

" Because we're not finish your cake." Mikey whined. His eyes were pleading and he was covered from head to toe in flour. He was also wearing a little chefs hat and a 'kiss the cook' apron.

" He's right Taylor!" Lily yelled from the kitchen. She was helping Mikey make my cake, " It's bad luck!"

" Yeah!" Mikey agreed and put his hands on his hips.

" Fine." I sighed, " but how am I going to get lunch?"

" I'll take care of that!" Mikey brightened and stood up straight, " You just go sit and relax while I fix you some lunch." Mikey insisted and pushed me towards the couch.

" Okay okay, I'm going." I shooed him away and sat back down on the couch.

" I wish I could get Mikey to do this kind of stuff for me." Raph joked.

" Yeah, must be nice to have a servant." John teased.

" Stop it guys, Mikey is not my servant. He's just being nice because it's my birthday."

" Yes, we must all hail to queen Taylor on her special day." Karai decided to join in on the teasing. And to emphasize her point, she got down on knees and bowed to me. John and Raph followed and copied Karai.

" You must obey me!" I declared and stood up proudly, deciding to play along, " You must all scrub these floors with a tooth brush between your teeth, and make sure I can see my reflection in them when your finished!"

They all stared up at me with mocking expression before bursting out laughing. I shared their laughter and fell on the floor. We all laughed until it hurt and we had to clench our sides.

" You'd be-e the w-worst q-queen ever!" John managed to say through his laughter.

" I'm gonna-gonna become queen, just because-ause you said that." I uttered then broke out in more laughs.

Once we calmed down a bit, we struggled back on the couch. We all sat in silence after we finished laughing. That was until we heard a shattering noise come from Leo's room then followed by a 'Leo don't!' coming from Donnie. All of our heads jerked in that direction. I couldn't help but wonder, _Was Leo hurting Donnie?_

Before any of us had time to react, Leo emerged from his room with Donnie over his shoulder. But Donnie was not injured, or screaming in pain. He was laughing. Leo was tickling Donnie as he carried him down the hall. This was impressive that Leo was carrying Donnie over one shoulder because Donnie is very tall. Although, very thin.

" Leo! Stop!" Donnie screeched before laughing historically again. His legs were kicking frantically in the air, trying to get Leo to stop tickling him. As a child, and even now, Donnie was and is very ticklish.

Donnie continued laughing all the way to the living room and until Leo threw him on the couch. That's when he had a chance to catch his breath. Leo jumped down and sat on the couch beside Donnie and watched his little brother wipe the tears away from his eyes. He had been laughing that much. Then Donnie sat up and took one more final deep breath before his breathing returned to normal and he calmed himself.

" Something funny?" Raph coked an eye brow, " You gonna tell us what happened in there?"

Leo and Donnie exchanged a playful glance. Then Donnie raised and hand responded,

" Sorry Raph, that's going to stay between Leo and myself."

Raph looked suspicious for a second or two but then decided to let it go. That was a bit out of Raph's character, but he knew that somethings should just stay between certain people.

" Can you at least tell us what that shattering noise was?" John proposed.

" I um," Donnie began. He was starting to blush as a red tint appeared on his cheeks, " I kinda kicked over Leo's lamp."

We all stared at them with confused expressions upon our faces.

" It wasn't my fault!" Donnie defended himself, " Leo picked me up and started to tickle me."

" Guilty." Leo laughed and stuck up his hand as he spoke.

" You guys are so childish." Karai rolled her eyes, even though there was a hint of amusement in them.

" Oh really?" John gave Karai a mischievous look and narrowed his eyes playfully, " Let's see how you like it!" And at that note, John jumped at Karai and started tickling her. Karai let out a huge laugh then began to snort.

" John!" Karai screamed then laughed and snorted again, " I'm gonna kill you!" She managed to push John away. She quickly stood up and lashed out her single katana. John yelped in surprise, stumbled to his feet and took off sprinting around the lair. Karai chased him.

I giggled as I watched two of my friends play fighting. Or more like John running for his life. But either one was funny.

" Lunch is served!" Mikey called out and walked out of the kitchen. But just as he came out, Karai bumped into him. Then all of the plates on Mikey's arms flew up in the air, along with the sandwiches on them.

Mikey let out a high pitched shriek and dashed after lunch. As the plates fell, Mikey was there to catch them and balance each plate on his arms. He had about eight plates. Four balances on one arm, and four on the other. Then with some swift movement, he got the sandwiches as well.

" Whoo! Go Mikey!" I cheered and clapped for the orange clad turtle. Everyone clapped with me.

" Thank you, thank you." Mikey took quick, short bows. He was careful not to drop any plates, " Now whose hungry?"

We all stuck up our hands and Mikey walked over to us. He handed everyone a plate then handed John and Karai their lunch once they came back from chasing one other. We all enjoyed a pleasant lunch together. We chatted and laughed. This was turning out to be a pretty good birthday.

" So what are we doing after lunch?" I asked. Wondering how this day could get any better.

" Well, we thought that we could have a movie marathon." John explained.

" Yeah, and you get to pick the movie." Mikey smiled happily, " But don't pick one I really like. Cause I'll be working on your cake."

" Yeah," Lily agreed, " don't pick avatar!"

" Good! No more avatar!" Karai cried, relieved, " I'm getting sick of that movie."

I smiled at Karai's enthusiasm.

After lunch was all done and cleaned up. I decided that I wanted to watch a lord of the rings marathon. I had never seen those movies and decided that now was as good as any time to watch them. At first Mikey was a bit disappointed, he likes the lord of the rings. But then he decided that decorating my cake was more important. Lily also agreed.

So as Lily and Mikey headed off to the kitchen. Raph put in the first movie and sat back on the couch beside Leo. They were sitting on one corner of the wrap around couch. Then in the other corner sat Karai and John. They weren't completely snuggling, but Karai did have her head rested on John's shoulder. Which was a big step for them. And finally, in the middle was where Donnie and I were sitting. He had his arms around me and I had my head laid on his chest. We were snuggling close together, so I was well protected if there are any frightening parts in the movie.

When the first movie was finished. Leo got up and put in the second one. We decided that we had just enough time to watch the other movie before supper came. So I sat and cuddled close to Donnie as we began to watch the second movie.

About half way through, I looked up at Donnie who was staring intensely at the TV screen. Donnie always watches every movie carefully then points out whats wrong with it. I smiled. Donnie's rants and his brothers reactions always make me laugh.

I let out a happy sigh. I didn't think I could get any more content then I was right now. Everyone was getting along, there was no tension in the air, and most importantly, Donnie was holding me tight in his arms. I didn't know how anybody could top this day. It was my perfect birthday. And I couldn't help but wonder, what other kind of things are my friends going to add to this perfect day? I couldn't think of anything because, this truly was a perfect moment.

* * *

**Okay...I admit, I think I had too much fun writing this really...really long chapter. Sorry that it's so long, just idea after idea kept coming. And I apologize to any Leo fan for his random outburst that wasn't quite his character. But you'll soon find out why he's acting this way. And by soon I don't mean the next chapter I just mean...well, soon. Anyway, I have a math exam tomorrow so wish me good luck and please review! XD**


	7. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

" Okay watch your step, we are now entering my lab." Donnie instructed. He had his hands over my eyes and was guiding me through the lair. It was nearly the end of my birthday but Donnie had one more thing to show me.

" Donnie." I laughed as I spoke, " What are we doing?"

" It's a surprise." Donnie responded, I could almost feel him grinning.

I didn't say anything after that and I just continued to where Donnie was guiding me. I could tell that we were in his lab because A) He told me a few seconds ago, and B) Because I could smell the strong sent of pencil lead, paper, and different chemicals.

" Alright, open your eyes." Donnie said and simultaneously pulled his hands off of my eyes. I was standing in his lab, and right in front of the machine he and I were working on. Except now it was a nice and shiny gray colour with a red stripe along it's border. It was a big machine, about the size of a desk, but a lot thicker then one. Then on top of the machine was placed a screen. Much like a TV or computer screen. Then on both sides were numerous of coloured buttons that had many different functions.

" Donnie, you did such a good job designing this." I congratulated him. Our machine looked really nice. It was kinda hard to see it because all the lights were dimmed.

" Thanks, but that's not your surprise." Donnie laughed, " This is."

Donnie pushed a green button on the machine and it lit up.

" You got it to work!" I said astonishingly.

" Yeah, and, uh. I made you your present." Donnie blushed shyly, " You ready to see it?"

" Yeah." I had an 'of course I am' tone to my voice.

" Okay, um. Here it is." Donnie stuttered a little bit then pressed a big purple button.

I stared at the screen of our machine as yellow dots appeared on the screen.

" Those are the particles." Donnie whispered. I nodded my head to show that I understood. Donnie had actually created nanobots.

As more and more tiny yellow dots appeared on the screen, it began to form a picture. It took me a few moments before I realized what it was. On the screen appeared two people formed of yellow spots. And those two people, well one person and one turtle was Donnie and myself. Then, the pictures began to move as Donnie pressed more and more buttons on the machine.

Little nanobot Donnie turned and faced nanobot Taylor and stuck out his hand. As soon as little Taylor took his hand, music began to play. Not just any song, but our song. Our song that we danced to on our very first date.

My jaw dropped open in amazement and I let out a small gasp. The nanobot us began to dance to the music. They were doing the exact steps we were on our first date. I watch as mini Taylor and mini Donnie dances rhythmically to ' Trying not to love you.' Seeing this was so sweet that it brought tears to my eyes. Tiny Donnie spun and dipped mini Taylor. As she spun, her nanobot dress would spin with her and flow as she was dipped. Then, at the music ended and nanobot Donnie kissed nanobot Taylor. Something that I wished happened on our real first date, just happened in our nanobot date.

But it wasn't over yet. Once tiny Taylor and miniature Donnie disappeared, words formed on the screen. The first set of words appeared and they said, 'Happy Birthday My Love.' Then when those words disappeared, more words came. The screen now said 'I love you' and a heart was formed around the words. But 'I love you' faded away and was replaced by 'Me too.' And as Me too appeared on the screen, an arrow shot through the heart.

I wished right then that I could have froze the moment and took a picture. Joy swelled up inside of me and I let a few tears trickle down my cheeks. I turned and faced Donnie as he turned the machine.

" Did you like it?" Donnie asked sorta nervously. But I had honestly no idea what he was afraid of.

" Donnie." I took a step towards him and rested my hands on his shoulders, " I love it,"

Donnie gave me one of the biggest smile I've ever seen. I smiled back at him then leaned forward to kiss him. Donnie leaned forward as well and another surge of joy shot through me as our lips touched. We stood there kissing for a few moments. I wanted this to last forever, feeling nothing but pure joy. But it seemed like as soon as we started kissing, it was over.

" This is the best present I've ever gotten." I whispered as we pulled away from each other, but our foreheads were still pressed together.

Donnie chuckled before responding, " Your welcome."

I smiled and laughed a little bit. I was truly saying thank you to him, but in kind of a secret hidden way. But either way, whatever I said meant thank you. But I knew that I could never thank Donnie enough for this gift. I pressed my forehead even closer to his.

" I never want to let go." I whispered to him and let a few more tears roll down my face.

" We don't have to." Donnie whispered back and kissed me again.

Eventually we did pull away. It was getting late and we came to the conclusion of going to bed, even though neither of us wanted to leave each other's side.

" Goodnight." I whispered to him as I stood in the door frame of my room, my curtain was pushed to one side.

" Goodnight." Donnie smiled back at me and gave me a goodnight kiss. I wanted to treasure the moment, it felt so good to be with Donnie. We pulled away from each other and Donnie began to walk away. He was walking backwards, so we were still facing each other. I was leaning up against my door frame as I watched Donnie walk away, smiling at me. I smiled back at him one last time before turning around and going to bed.

I settled myself down and got nice and snug underneath my covers. Warmth flooded through me as I drifted off in sleep.

" Hello?" I called out to blackness. I was standing in what seemed like an all black room. I couldn't see anything except myself. Am I dreaming? I thought to myself.

_**Why yes, yes you are...**_

I spun around quickly as a voice suddenly began to speak.

" Not you again." I sighed. I knew exactly what was coming. My inner voice and I were about to have a conversation.

_**Wow, your nice.**_

I tensed with alarm.

" Sorry." I quickly apologized, remembering last time I was 'mean' to my inner voice. It had sent me back to my vision. I never wanted to relive that.

My inner voice chuckled. It had complete control over me. I had to be nice to it, I had to do what it said or it would make my disturbing vision come true. I know it sounds crazy, but fear is a really powerful thing.

" Yeah hilarious." I responded plainly, " Why did you come here?"

_**I didn't come here, I brought you here. **_

" Why?" I asked.

_**I thought we might chat. You know, catch up**_.

" Can't you just leave me alone for once?"

_**Hey, I haven't talked to you since the patrol. And that was three days ago. **_

" Well, let's just say your company isn't very pleasant." I sneered.

_**I want you to do something for me**_. My voice cut to the chase.

**I didn't respond. What was it going to get me to do this time? Last time it caused nothing but trouble.**

" What do you want me to do?" I questioned nervously.

_**I want you to go talk to Splinter about Leo. **_

" You want me to tattle on Leo? To Splinter?" I asked, " Wouldn't that be helping Leo?"

_**Who says I can't be helpful?**_ My inner voice challenged.

" I dunno, you don't tend to be very nice most of the times." I shrugged.

Maybe your right, I do tend to be...mean... at sometimes. So not being cruel now would just ruin my reputation.

"What are you getting to?" I wondered as fear spiked through me.

_**Sweet dreams princess.**_ My inner voice laughed mischievously.

I flinched as it called me princess. I hated that nickname. But that was the least of my problem, because the blackness around started to swirl around me and colour began to appear.

" NO!" I screamed from the top of my lungs as I dropped to my knees. I heard a sploshing sound, like something dropping in water. But in was me, splashing in blood as I fell on my knees. I knew exactly where I was. I was in the dojo, the bloody dojo.

I quickly stood up as I felt the blood soak into my pyjama pants. The knees were stained red and the rest of my pants was quickly turning red.

" Taylor..." I heard Donnie's fragile voice call to me from his usual dark corner. I refused to look at him, I knew this wasn't real. So I looked in the other direction but that was no better. My eyes rested upon a bloody Leo with his eyes dug out of his scull. He was unable to talk but he was making a wheezing noise.

I tried to look away but I couldn't, it was like I had lost all control of my eyes as they gazed around the room. The nearly fur-less, all blood covered Splinter was next to Leo. And on the other side of Leo was the dismantled Raph, with his head turned completely around. And Mikey, poor Mikey was bleeding through all of his missing limbs.

Then, Donnie. In the farthest corner of the red dojo laid Donnie. Bleeding out of control, calling out my name. Tears instantly clouded my vision as I was re-living this scene again. My legs seem to have a mind of their own as the ran towards the turtle I love the most. And yet again, I was getting nowhere.

" Taylor, help...me..." Donnie called to me again. He had one arm extended out towards me.

" I'm coming!" I yelled. I had to try. If only I could get to him, I could save him. Or at least, that what it seems like.

" ...Taylor..." Donnie's voice filled my ears. He was saying my name over and over again, but each time getting farther and farther away.

" NO!" I screamed and pushed even harder. I tried to run, I ran as fast as I could. Then, something happened. I seemed to be moving. Yes, I was actually moving, Donnie was getting closer to me, " Hold on!" I shouted, " I'm coming." I ran some more. I was almost there. Donnie was just a few feet away from me. My heart began to beat so fast in my chest that I thought it would explode. I was coming to save my Donnie. I was going to reach him. I was going to do it. I was going to save him. I thought I felt a spark of joy or hope flicker in my system.

But that hope quickly faded away as I tripped. I went crashing on the floor and splashing in yet other puddle of blood. My hand was just inches away from Donnie's. I tried to crawl forward before Donnie would completely fade from my sight, but I couldn't move. My body was frozen to the ground as I laid paralysed. Donnie was just out of my reach. Our finger tips were only milometers away from touching.

" NO!" I screamed again. It felt like everything just came crashing down on me.

" Taylor..." Donnie looked up and me, he was almost transparent, " You, promised..." Those were Donnie's final words to me before he faded from my sight. If my heart wasn't already broken, it was now.

" Donnie!" I cried as I started to bawl. As soon as Donnie disappeared, I was able to move again. I inched forward, my legs would not support me. All that was left of Donnie was his pool of blood, and I was laying in it. I ran my fingers through this puddle and sobbed, " No..." I whispered to myself. I was no longer able to scream, or shout, or even talk. My voice was faint, just like Donnie's was.

" Taylor." Donnie's voice called out to me. I knew it was just in my head. This always happened in my vision. Even after Donnie had gone, his voice remained as loud and as clear as ever.

" Go away..." I whispered.

" Taylor." Donnie's voice rang in my ears and I could almost see the hurt in his eyes as I failed to reach him. I had broken yet another promise to him. I promised I would let nothing hurt him ever again, but I failed.

" Get out." I was able to raise my voice.

" Taylor!" Donnie seemed to scream in pain.

" Get out of my head!" I full out yelled now. I was yelling at my inner voice. It was the one who sent me here, it was the one sending me Donnie's voice yelling in pain.

" Taylor!"

" NO!" I shouted and thrashed my hand through the air, splattering bright red blood across the blackened floor, " ...please." I sobbed, " just leave me alone. Please get out of my head..."

" Taylor!" Donnie's voice sounded panicked. I began to shake. I was pleading for it to stop. I had my hands over my ears and I was screaming, " Taylor." Donnie's voice gave one more final cry before my eyes fluttered open.

* * *

I couldn't believe it, I was awake. It was all a dream. But, I knew that before. But it felt so real. Millions of thoughts whirled in my head before I realized what I was looking at. Donnie was shaking me viciously back and forth, mouthing words that I couldn't make out. There was a terrible ringing in my ears so I couldn't hear a thing.

_He's okay!_ The thought erupted like a volcano in my head. Donnie was alright, he was alive. I didn't break my promise to him.

Only now I realized that Donnie's eyes were filled with fear. His eyes were wide and he was shouting something. It took me a moment to figure out what he was saying.

" Taylor! Taylor wake up!" I heard Donnie shout as my hearing returned.

" Donnie..." I barely whispered his name. I was too breath taken to speak at full volume. But he seemed to have heard me because Donnie stopped shaking me and pulled me into a hug. His breath were shaky and he seemed scared.

" Taylor, are you okay?" He asked nervously, not letting me go.

My mouth felt dry and sticky. I tried to respond but nothing came out of my mouth except for a pathetic whimpering noise.

Donnie pulled me out of the hug and looked into my eyes. In my head I was asking the question, 'what happened?' I was hoping that somehow Donnie would understand. And sure enough he did.

" You were screaming in your sleep." Donnie cried. He was so nervous, " You were saying something like 'get out' and then you kept screaming 'no!' Then you screamed like you were in pain."

When Donnie finished explaining, my eyes grew wide. _He heard all of that? What I was saying in my vision?_ Questions began to roll in and out of my mind.

" Donnie..." I said breathlessly. His name seemed to be the only word I could say.

" Yes?" Donnie asked quickly and eagerly, " What is it? Are you alright? You okay?" Donnie was rubbing my arms. It was very soothing.

I nodded my head to answer Donnie's questions. Just seeing him alive and in front of me made me sob. I leaped into Donnie's arms again for a hug. I let the tears roll freely down my face. There was no point in trying to hold them back. I was to over whelmed with emotion.

" It's okay." Donnie whispered in my ear and rubbed my back soothingly, " Your okay now. It was just a bad dream."

_Yeah, that's all it was. Just a bad dream, just a nightmare._ I thought, trying to calm myself down as I breathed in Donnie's sweet scent. _I'm awake now, I'm okay. Donnie's okay. He's right here, holding you in his arms._ I told myself. But it just made me cry harder. I squeezed Donnie in my arms. I never wanted him to leave.

" It's okay." Donnie comforted me, " I'm right here. Your safe now."

Donnie's comforting voice helped me calm down. I slowed my breathing and wiped away any tears. I backed out of the hug and stared at Donnie. His brown eyes were glazed with concern and worry. I smiled weakly at him. Then we smiled weakly at me. Not because he was shaken like I was, but because he was so worried.

" I l-love you." I managed to say. My breaths were still shaky and I was shaking too.

" I love you too." Donnie answered but still sound extremely concern, " Are you alright?" He asked.

" Yeah." I breathed out as I responded.

" You sure? I mean your shaking Taylor." Donnie pointed out.

" I-I just need to-to lay down." I told him and he layed me down in my bed. He layed down right beside me, not leaving my side.

" Stay with me." I whispered to him and squeezed his hand.

" Yeah, yeah of course." Donnie sounded astonished as he leaned in and wrapped me in his arms again. He pressed me closed to his chest and I listened to the rhythm of his heart.

I could sense Donnie wanted to say something more. He wanted to ask me about my dream. But I just started to calm down, so he didn't dare ask.

I took a few more deep breaths, they were dry and horsed. I'm guessing it was because all of the screaming I did.

" Taylor? Do you want some water?" Donnie offered.

I nodded my head. Unable to speak.

" Okay, I'll be right back." Donnie told me and got up. I watched him walk out of my room and I heard him walk down the hall.

I layed in my bed for a few moments until I shot straight up. I was thinking more and more about what Donnie heard me say. An idea came in my mind. I threw off my covers and walked shakily over to my dresser.

" No, it's not possible..." I whispered to myself as I searched through my top draw filled with socks. I searched frantically, pushing socks upon socks out of the way until I found it.

I found a crumpled up piece of paper. I unfolded it and read it carefully. It was the paper that I had stuffed in my pants pocket the night I talked with Donnie in his lab. The night I tried to get him to tell me who 'he' was. The 'he' who was supposedly going to hurt me.

I held the paper in my hand as I couldn't believe that I hadn't noticed this before. On the paper was written,

_Get out, Get out, Get out of my head! Go away!_

These were the exact words Donnie said he heard me scream.

" Does my inner voice..." I began to myself but footsteps interrupted me. I quickly stuffed the paper back into my sock draw and ran back into bed. I threw the cover back over me and I waited for Donnie to return with my water.

He entered my room and handed me the glass of water. I smiled a thanks to him and took a few gulps of water. Then I set it on my bed side table as Donnie climbed back in bed with me and got under the covers. We got back in our cuddling position and snuggled together.

A wave of warm relief washed over me as I once again felt safe in Donnie's arms. I felt his heart pounding in his chest and he was holding me closer then ever. It felt nice that Donnie cared for me this much. All I had was a nightmare, and he was right here at my side to comfort me.

_But it was much more then just a bad dream._ I thought to myself. _It was much more then that. It felt so real. Stupid inner voice_, I scolded my thoughts, _Why does it have to haunt me?_

I put my thoughts on paused as I felt Donnie's breaths slow down. I looked up at him. He was asleep. I let myself smile a little. Donnie's so cute when he sleeps.

It was about time I tried to fall asleep, if possible. So to help ease my mind, I listened to the soothing beating of Donnie's heart. I tired to push all of my thoughts to the back of my head. But one kept returning. I couldn't help but wonder...

_Does my inner voice have something to do with Donnie as well?_

* * *

**I finally got another chapter up! Sorry this one took a little longer then the rest. I'll try to update more often. Anyway, hope your enjoying the story so far, not much has happened but something is coming up(insert dramatic music here). Hope you liked it and please review! :D**


	8. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

When I awoke the next morning, Donnie was sitting up in my bed next to me. I looked up at him and smiled lightly, still getting use to the day light filtering through my room.

" Morning." I whispered and sat up.

" How'd ya sleep?" He asked as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

" Pretty good I guess." I said through my yawn, " What time is it?"

" About seven." Donnie shrugged casually.

" Did you stay here all night?" I questioned.

" Yeah, you asked me to stay with you. So I did."

My heart grew warm at Donnie's sweetness. He is one of the kindest souls I've ever met.

" Taylor?" He continued with a nervous hint to his voice, " What did you dream about?"

I stiffened as Donnie asked his question. I couldn't tell him that, I couldn't tell anyone about my dream...ever. No matter how much I wanted to, it would only make things worst.

I ignored Donnie's question and got off my bed. I headed towards my dresser and picked out some clothes. I faced the wall so Donnie couldn't see me and I undressed myself.

" Taylor?" Donnie called out to me again as I slipped on a pair of blue jeans.

" Yeah?" I asked as calmly and as normally as I could. I then took off my pyjama shirt and put on my bra.

Donnie sighed at my noncooperation as I pretended to be clueless of what he had asked me. While he sighed I put on a purple T-shirt. I heard Donnie get up and walk over to me. Although I was fully dressed now, apart from my bare feet, I could still feel the warmth of Donnie on my back. He had his arms wrapped around me and his head was rested on top of mine.

" Taylor," Donnie began, " I'm really worried about you."

I felt myself go hot with shame. I want to tell him, I want to tell him so much. But I couldn't. I can't, I won't.

" What did you dream about?" Donnie asked again.

" I-I can't say." I told him shamefully and rubbed his hand.

" Do you know how hard it was for me to hear you scream?" Donnie retorted and turned me around so he could see my face.

_Do you know how hard it is for me to watch you die right in front of my very eyes? Do you know how hard it is for me to see all of your brothers and Sensei lay dead on a blood stained dojo? Do you know how hard it is for me to be able to do nothing about and just suffer through it over and over again?_ I thought to myself. I knew Donnie was just worried about me, but for once, I wish he would drop it.

" Can we get something to eat? Then we'll talk?" I offered. A low grumble came from my stomach.

" Sure." Donnie responded a little disappointingly. He let go of me but did not move. I walked out of my room thinking that he would follow right behind me. But Donnie just stood still as I left him alone in my room.

" Hey guys!" I greeted everyone as I walked into the living room. Donnie quickly caught up with me from behind.

" Sup Tater-tot!" Mikey replied with a grin. He was doing a hand stand near the pin ball machine they had in the lair.

" Mikey, what are you doing?" I coked my head to one side.

" I'm gonna play pin ball, on my head!" The orange masked turtle chuckled.

" Pin ball for a pin head." Raph huffed underneath his breath.

" Hey! I heard that!" Mikey whined but knowing Mikey, he'd be over it within a few seconds.

" Oh and Mikey," Raph added, " Tater-tot?"

" Yeah, it's my new nickname for Taylor." Mikey smiled and turned his attention to the pin ball machine and was trying to pull the trigger with his toes.

" So I'm peanut to Raph, and tater-tot to Mikey. Why do you guys name me after food?" I pointed out.

" Well mine's because of the whole you break easily, but Mikey's? I have no clue." Raph stuck up his hands in defence.

" Well, guh" Mikey grunted, " It...just...came to my...guh, head. I'm awesome..at naming, guh, things."

I was about to respond but just then the fire alarm went off. The high pitch ringing echoed in the lair and was drowning out any voices. A black smoke cloud was coming from the kitchen, and Leo emerged from it waving his hands in the air.

" Sorry guys." Leo responded when he fully came out of the black smoke cloud. He emerged coughing.

" Leo! What the heck happened!" Raph screamed and jumped up from the couch.

" I was um," Leo paused and coughed again, " I was trying to make toast."

" Leo..." We all said his name simultaneously. Leo couldn't cook...at all.

" Oh and Donnie, I think the toaster's broken again." Leo yelled over the fire alarm.

Donnie just sighed, annoyed.

"...and on fire." Leo finished his sentence.

" Aw crud!" Donnie cursed then ran to his lab. He quickly ran back and into the kitchen with a fire extinguisher. A moment or two later, the cloud of black smoke faded away and a much smaller cloud of white appeared from the kitchen due to the fire extinguisher.

" It's alright, the fires out." Leo announced and came out of the kitchen.

" No thanks to you." Donnie muttered and came out of the kitchen. It was only for a moment though as he went to disable the fire alarm. He returned a few seconds later, " I guess I'll get started on fixing the toaster." Donnie shot a glare at Leo, but there was amusement in his eyes.

" Ouuu, I'll get it!" Mikey flipped right side up again, he was doing a handstand this entire time. Then he shot to the kitchen. Mikey was always glad to help Donnie in his lab, with anything at all, " Ow!" Mikey let out an ear splitting scream and web heard a crashing like noise.

" Mikey! What happened in their?" Donnie shouted from where he was standing.

" The toaster is hot!" Mikey whined. Donnie rolled his eyes and walked in the kitchen.

" Mikey..." Donnie grumbled, " You need to grab the non metallic sides of the toaster." We heard Donnie growl at Mikey.

" Uh..." Mikey's voice sounded clueless.

" The sides that aren't made of pure metal." Donnie simplified his answer for his only little brother, " Now the toaster is burnt to a crisp and smashed in two!"

" Don't worry bro, I'll fix it!" Mikey called excitedly then ran out of the kitchen. He ran through the living room and headed towards Donnie's lab.

" Mikey! Don't!" Donnie shouted and ran after Mikey. He zoomed out of the kitchen and quickly caught up to Mikey who was carrying a black, smoking, two pieced toaster in his hands. Mikey stopped at Donnie's lab door and slid it open.

" C'mon Donnie, I've seen you fix a toaster before. I know what to do." Mikey reassured Donnie before slipping inside his lab with a wide grin.

" Mikey, I don't need to fix that toaster...I need to build a complete knew one!" Donnie scolded and stomped inside his lab. Leo, Raph, Karai and myself all shrugged and decided to follow. We were all curious about where this was going.

" Whoa Donnie." Raph began as we walked into his lab. Once again there were papers all around with broken pencils scattered across the floor, " I've never seen your lab messy before. I thought you were o.c.d or something.

Donnie half spun around like he was surprised to see us there. He was to busy trying to get Mikey to stop wandering through his stuff to have heard us coming.

" I'm not o.c.d!" Donnie spat at Raph then turned back to Mikey. He was going through Donnie's cabinet and pulled out arm fulls of crumpled up pieces of paper. I knew that those were the papers Donnie was trying to hide from me.

" Yeah Raph. Why else would Donnie keep bundles of papers stuffed at the back of this cabinet if he was o.e.p?" Mikey asked with a smirk.

" It's o.c.d Mikey, and give me those!" Donnie corrected and then took the papers from Mikey's hands and stuffed them back in his cabinet. Then he picked up the rest of the papers before anyone could look at them.

" Umm, Donnie?" Mikey began shyly, " Can I still help with the toaster?"

Donnie was about to say no to Mikey, but the look in his eyes told me a light bulb just lite up in his head.

" Sure Mikey." Donnie began a little mischievously, " I need you to go explore the sewers and find as many black and red polka-dotted buttons as you can."

" How many do you need?" Mikey asked, not getting that Donnie was only kidding around.

" Twenty." Donnie replied flatly, surprised by how much Mikey didn't understand.

" Okay!" Mikey answered cluelessly and took off.

We chuckled a little when Mikey was out of sight and was so easily fooled. By sending Mikey away, we all got the hint that Donnie wanted to be alone. So we walked away with quick goodbyes and a sorry from Leo.

" So, what now?" asked Raph as he jumped down on the couch.

I didn't know if he was talking to me, or to everyone. So I just ignored him and went to my room. I walked over to my dresser and got out that crumpled up piece of paper in my sock draw. I made sure my curtain was closed all the way before sitting on my bed and unfolding the paper. I read it out loud.

" Get out, get out, get out of my head. Go away." I whispered and began to think.

_What could this mean? Donnie wrote this, and these words are exactly what I said in my dream. Is Donnie somehow involved with my inner voice?...No, he can't be. My inner voice is only in my head. But then again...why else would Donnie write this? Maybe he's getting haunted by his own inner voice? But surely he would tell me about it right? But I'm not telling Donnie about my inner voice, so why would he tell me about his? If he even has one..._

My thoughts got interrupted by Leo walking in my room.

" Hey Taylor?" He called from outside then made his way in. I quickly crumpled the paper and stuffed it under my bed sheets.

" Yeah?"

" Whatcha doing?" Leo asked curiously before stating why he was here.

" Nothing, just thinking." I shrugged and waited for Leo to continue.

" Well, Sensei wants us all in the dojo."

" Okay, coming." I told him and got up. We walked to the dojo together and knelt down in front of Splinter. Raph, Karai and were already here.

" Where is Donatello?" Splinter asked. His human like hands were cupped nicely behind his back.

" Is working on a new toaster Sensei." Raph explained.

" And Michelangelo?" Splinter coked an eyebrow as he began to pace slowly back and forth.

" He went out to collect buttons." Raph answered yet another one of Sensei's questions.

" Well, Raphael. Will you go fetch them?"

" Hai Sensei." Raph bowed his head to Splinter before getting up and running out.

" Right," Splinter nodded his head in satisfaction, " We might as well get started. Today, we are-" Splinter began then stopped as Donnie came running in.

" Sorry Sensei!" Donnie called as he ran in. He took a seat right beside me. I glanced at him. I could tell Donnie was working hard because he had a black smudge on his cheek.

" Donnie." I whispered his name and elbowed him. He looked at me and I pointed to my cheek. Signally that he had something on his. Donnie took the hint and quickly rubbed the black smear off then smiled a thanks to me.

" As I was saying." Splinter continued, " Today we are going to help-"

" I found him!" Raph came running in with Mikey, interrupting Sensei once again.

" Donnie, I could only find three black buttons with red polka-dots." Mikey admitted shamefully. Donnie just did a face-palmed. Mikey still didn't understand that Donnie was only kidding.

" Now that we're all here." Splinter began for a third time but more sternly. Mikey and Raph immediately sat down at Splinter's harshness, " Today we are all going to help Taylor find her weapon."

I sat straight up in shock, with eyes wide and mouth open a little bit.

" Really?" I asked excitedly, barely able to keep still. I've waited so long for a weapon, and now I was going to get one.

" Yes." Splinter chuckled amusingly, " Let's begin."

At that note we all stood up and ready to get started. Even the guys looked excited.

" We will begin by testing you and training you with each weapon already owned. Leonardo, you will start off." Splinter instructed. Leo stood up and went in the centre of the dojo. While the rest of us sat and watched.

" Okay, um Taylor." Leo began and drew out his double katanas, " We can start with something basic. Just a slash through the air."

" Wow, impressive." Karai laughed and said sarcastically.

" Sock-it Karai. Everyone has to start somewhere." Leo spat at Karai then focused his attention back on me.

" Okay, show me how Leo." I urged him on. I was shaking with excitement.

" So first you want to get into your warrior stance like Sensei has taught you." Leo started off then got in the stance. He was standing with one foot extended in front of him and the other extended in the back. It looked sorta like a lunge but not quite as leaned forward. More weight went to your back foot., " Next you want to draw your swords over your shoulders. Keep one above the other. Then just, swing forward." Leo demonstrated and it looked simple enough.

" Alright, let's try this." I got up and ran to Leo, nearly bumping into him.

" Here." He laughed then handed me his katanas, " Now get in the stance."

" Like this right?" I asked Leo as he studied my warrior stance.

" Put more pressure on your back foot." Leo instructed.

" Okay." I obeyed and did as I was told.

" Good, now hover your katanas over your shoulder."

I tried to mimic what Leo did in his demonstration.

" Raise this one a little higher." Leo lifted one of my arms and steadied it, "Now lower your elbows a bit."

I tried to do what Leo was asking, and let's just say it's harder then it all sounds.

" And now just slash your katanas in the air." Leo said as soon as I got my stance right. He took a few steps back and waiting for to swing.

I readjusted my grip on the handles and took a swing. Turns out that katanas are really heavy and don't have a good gripping handle on them cause when I took my swing, I let go of one of the katanas and it when flying in the air. It flew towards Leo's head but he quickly ducked down and stuck one hand in the air. Leo had caught the flying katana.

" He-he," I laughed hot with embarrassment, " Sorry Leo."

" Now I don't expect it to be perfect the first time, but I don't think katanas are your thing." Leo hinted and stood up.

" Maybe not." Karai shrugged and stood up. She walked to where Leo was standing and pushed him out of the way. Leo grunted and sat back down beside his brothers and Sensei, " But maybe a single katana is more her style." And Karai pulled out her katana and gave in a couple of spins in her hand.

" Is it as heavy as Leo's?" I asked and pointed to her sword nervously. I would much rather only attempt to take off one head today.

" No, it's a light katana. It's smaller, lighter, but just as effective." Karai had a bragging tone and a mock smile upon her face.

" So how do you use it?" I asked. I watched as Karai took a few steps back and got ready.

" Like this." She started then slashed her katana in the air. She did a diagonal slash to the left and then to the right. While advancing, she did a vertical slash in the air and within a few steps she did a horizontal slash. Once the horizontal slash was complete, she did a flip in the air while she did a bunch of smaller movements. She landed squarely in front of me.

I gave a hard swallow, " You expect me to do that?"

" No." Karai shook her head and chuckled, " Just do the part before the flip."

" Oh, okay." I replied, still uncertain that any type of sword would be my weapon.

" Ready?" Karai coked an eyebrow as I got into place.

" Yeah." I nodded then began. I got the first diagonal slash right and then the next. I felt pretty proud of myself. This katana was much easier to handle then Leo's. I went up to do the vertical slash, but when I came swinging down, I dropped the sword and it nearly cut off my toes.

" You know," I began panting a little, " I'm starting to think that swords aren't my weapon."

" No kidding." Karai huffed and folded her arms across her chest.

I bent down and picked up Karai's katana. I gave it back to her and she snatched it out of my hands. I sighed in defeat. Was I ever going to find my weapon?

" Taylor, you don't choose your weapon." Splinter began wisely, " Your weapon will choose you."

I was about to reply but Raph stood up and interrupted before words could even form in my head.

" My turn." He said excitedly and stood in the same spot where Leo and Karai stood when they tried to teach me the art of katanas.

" Oh great." I sighed as Raph pulled out his twin sai, " There's no way I'm gonna be able to use those."

" Sure you will, it's not that hard." Raph insisted and handed me his sai's without showing me anything, " The best way to learn how to use sai's is hands on combat. It comes as a natural thing." Raph instructed then got into a stance that shows me he's going to attack.

" Wait!" I screeched before Raph launched himself at me.

" What?" He said with a disappointed edged to his voice.

" It may come naturally for you, but that's only because you have 16 years of experience." I countered.

" Technically only 10 years of experience, we got our weapons when we were six." Donnie piped up but from Raph's glare, he immediately shut his mouth.

" Don't worry. You'll know what to do." Raph waved it off then charged at me.

Panicked, I tried to grip one sai's better but ended up dropping it. Raph rammed right into me with his shoulder. I was pretty sure this was just an excuse to beat me up. But not wanting to give up, I slid across the floor and grabbed the sai. Raph was quick to react and went at me again. Before I knew it, Raph's fist was coming at my face. I interlocked the sai's a few inches away from my face, hoping to stop Raph's fist. But surely enough it came at me and punched me, plus the tip of the sai poked me in the nose.

I fell to the floor at the impacted and Raph sat on my chest.

" Ow!" I heaved and struggled under Raph's weight.

" Raphael! That is enough!" Splinter finally stopped this.

" But Sensei, Peanut and I are just getting started." Raph smiled and patted my chest. Splinter gave a hard glare and finally, Raph got up.

I got up as soon as Raph did. I handed him back his weapons and he sat back down. Now Donnie got up and got in place. He pulled out his BO-staff and gave me a slight smile.

" Good. Finally a weapon without a blade." I sighed in relief.

Donnie chuckled a little then pressed a hidden switch on his staff. A blade came out of the top and my relief crashed down to floor level.

" Right, forgot." I noted flatly.

" But don't worry, we're not going to use the blade." Donnie laughed and pressed the switch again. The blade slid back into the staff.

" So what are you gonna teach me?" I wondered.

" Well I could teach you one of two things." Donnie began and rubbed his chin. He tends to do that when he's thinking hard, either that or stick out his tongue, " I could teach you shield or just your basic spin and strike."

" Which one's easier?" I asked hoping to help Donnie to decide.

" Definitely the shield." He nodded.

" Let's do that one!" I replied quickly. I already had enough of hard katas for one day.

" Alright. With the shield, you learn a double move. You learn how to spin the staff and how to defend yourself. It can work as a combat move or a defence move." Donnie informed and took a step or two forward. He was standing a few feet away from me so I could see what he was doing.

Donnie began by showing how to hold the staff. He told me that you actually only use one hand for this move. What you do is spin the staff with one hand by doing sorta like your paddling a boat. You swish the staff from one side then flip it to the next.

" Once you got the hang of that." Donnie continued explaining," You can increase your speed. Once you go so fast, it looks like a shield is forming." Donnie did as he was explaining and he was right. It looked like a shield was forming in front of him, " You can also switch from side to side so you have full protection from where ever you stand." Donnie switch from left to right and back again.

" Cool." I commented and Donnie stopped spinning his BO-staff. He smiled at and handed me his weapon.

" Now you try."

I tried Donnie's move that he just showed me and I must say that I wasn't that bad at it. It took me a while to get the spin started, but once I did, everything else just flowed together.

" Ha! I'm doing it!" I laughed proudly as I spun the staff. But I spoke to soon, after a few more spins, the tip of the staff whacked me on my cheek, " Well, I _was_ doing it."

" My turn! My turn!" Mikey shouted and ran to where Donnie and I were standing. He gave Donnie a shove as I handed him back his BO-staff.

It was Mikey's turn to teach me about his weapon and he began with the basic spin. Mikey handed me one nun-chuck and demonstrated with the other.

" It's all in the wrist." He instructed.

I watched Mikey carefully before trying it myself. Next thing I knew, I was swinging a nun-chuck beside Mikey, just not as fast or as swift. Next, Mikey brought his weapon down to his side and then the other. I tried to mimic him, but didn't do it quite as well. I smacked the nun-chuck against my hip bone. But I quickly recovered and started to swing again.

" Very well done today my sons, and daughters." Splinter smiled and waved a hand towards the door, signally that we were dismissed.

" Hai Sensei." We all stood in a row, back straight as we replied simultaneously.

_This is my chance._ I thought to myself._ Am I actually gonna do this? Last time it ended badly. But this...this is good...right?_

I needed to talk to Splinter about Leo's odd behaviour lately. Leo obviously hadn't talked to Splinter, and I knew someone is going to have to eventually. So there's that reason, and because of my inner voice. It told me too, and I have to do what it says or else disastrous things will happen.

So I made sure I was at the back of the pack when everyone began to leave. I stayed behind.

" Sensei?" I began and waited for a reply. Splinter was already sitting in front of his bonsai tree and was getting ready to meditate.

" Taylor, you need to let me meditate on which weapon you will use." Splinter said with a slight smile and amusement in his voice. He let out a little chuckle.

" It's not that...I need to talk to you...about Leo." I confessed and knelt down in front of him. _Am I making the right choice?_

" Oh?" Splinter coked an eyebrow and opened one eye. I had struck his curiosity.

" I-I've noticed." I stammered. I was having second thoughts about talking to him. _Do it for Leo, do it for Leo._ I kept reaping in my head.

" You've noticed Leonardo's odd behaviour I presume." Splinter shut the one eye that he had open.

" Yes, yes exactly." I replied a little relieved, " You've noticed it too?"

" Of course." Splinter spoke a little taken aback, " He's my son. I always know when something is wrong."

" Then why didn't you say anything?" I asked, daring to question Splinter.

" I do not talk to my sons about things they do not want to talk about." Splinter answered simply with a nod of his head, " I simply wait for them to come to me when their ready."

" So your not going to anything to help Leo?" I tilted my head to one side.

" Yes, and no. You see Taylor, I will talk to Leonardo, but it is his choice of what he wants to do."

" Alright." I sighed and dropped my gaze to the ground. I didn't quite get the answer I was looking for, " Thanks, Sensei."

Splinter grunted and nodded in response. I walked out of the dojo and down the stairs. I came into the living room and plopped myself on the couch. No one was here except me. I could hear Raph and Karai talking in the kitchen. I could tell Donnie was in his lab continuing his work on the toaster. Mikey was either in Donnie's lab bugging Donnie, or in his room reading comic books. As for Leo? My best guest would be either the bathroom or his room. So that left me alone in the living room, that left me alone with my thoughts.

_When did my life get so messed up?_ I thought in my head. _Did I do the right thing? Telling Master Splinter about Leo? It was the right thing to do, or at least I hope. Why can't someone just tell me what to do? I wouldn't mind that for once. I mean anyone else except my inner voice. That thing controls me. It tells me what to do, but not how to do it. Is that why I told Splinter about Leo? Because I'm scared? Is that the only reason? Maybe this was a horrible mistake..._

" Hey Taylor." Leo walked out of the bathroom and sat down beside me. My assumption was correct, but my thoughts got interrupted, " What's on your mind?" Leo asked a question that could never be answered.

" Nothing." I sighed out of defeat and stared and my feet, " Nothing at all."

* * *

**Yay(I hope) another chapter is up! Finally things are starting to pick up and go somewhere. Next chapter will be better though, I promise. Anyway, not much to say but none the less I hope your enjoying the story so far and please please review. Thanks! :D**


	9. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A week went by. A week went by since I told Splinter about Leo. And Splinter kept his word. He went to talk to Leo. In fact, everyday this week Leo would go into the dojo and talk with Splinter for hours. Then we would always come out looking sad, or worried or nervous.

A week went by. A week went by since the night I got my vision. And everyday this week, I would have the same dream. I would get my vision every single time. And every night I would wake up to Donnie shaking me with tears forming in his eyes. He's scared, I'm scared.

A week went by. And during this week, Donnie's still have these weird mood swings. I keep finding papers all over his lab floor. They always say the same thing. 'Get out! Get out! Get out of my head! Go away!' What could this mean? Is Donnie linked to my inner voice?

" Hey Taylor?" Donnie's voice snapped me back into reality and away from my thoughts, " Could you hand me my star screw driver?"

" Yeah, sure." I replied and searched through Donnie's tool box. I was sitting on Donnie's desk with his tools at my side. Donnie was sitting in his rolling chair and was working on the new toaster, " Here you go." I said and handed him his star screw driver with the orange handle.

" Thanks." Donnie spoke without looking at me. He was deep with focus and concentration. I watched Donnie work on the toaster for a few moments before getting lost in my thoughts again.

_How long can I keep going like this? How much longer can I keep my inner voice a secret? I wish I could tell Donnie. He would know what to do. Am I losing my mind? Am I insane? I mean a voice that just suddenly appeared one day? Why did it come? What is it? Did I lose my sanity that night?_

" Taylor!" Donnie shouted my name. I looked at him in surprise. He had startled me and I jumped, even though he was only a few feet away from me. It seemed like he had been calling my name for a while now.

" Yeah." I gave my head a shake. _Keep it together Taylor._ I thought.

" Are you alright?" Donnie set down the screw driver and faced me. Worry and desire glowed deep within his brown eyes.

" Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little distracted." I lied and swung my legs in the air.

" Taylor? Why are you lying to me?" Donnie asked with concern.

" Is it really that obvious?" I moaned.

" Yes." Donnie laughed before getting serious again, " What's wrong?"

" I-um" I began. I didn't know what to say. Do I tell him? Do I try to convince him that there's nothing wrong?

" Is it because of your dream?" Donnie guessed and rolled right in front of me. He took my hands and held them. His brown eyes were staring deep into mine, searching and pleading for an answer.

" Sorta..." I hesitated. _Should I tell him?_

" Why won't you tell me what you dream about? I'm really worried." Donnie cried. The sad look in his eyes was to overwhelming, I had to look away.

" You-you wouldn't understand if I told you." I shook him away and pulled my hands away from his. But Donnie just took them right back. But this time he held my hands to his chest.

" Do you feel that?" Donnie wondered, " As long as this heart is beating I will _always_ be here for you Taylor. No matter what."

" Donnie." I whispered. Every word that I was about to say was a struggled, " You don't know how many times I wished I could tell you...but I can't. It won't let me."

" What? What won't let you?" Donnie pleaded, " Please tell me. I can help you."

" No, you can't." I snatched my hands away from his. I got up off of his desk and walked towards his cabinet.

" You don't know that!" I heard Donnie stand up as he spoke. He sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

" Well you don't know that I won't be able to help you with this!" I countered and pulled out the crumpled up piece of paper from my pocket. Donnie walked over to me so our faces were only inches apart.

" How did you get that?" Donnie sounded astonished and breathless.

" I found it, and took it." I lifted my chin to show that I wasn't afraid of the actions I did.

Donnie didn't reply. He was too taken aback with shock.

" Donnie, don't you understand? These words, on this paper, are the exact words that you say I scream in my sleep. Why did you right these down?" I waved the piece of paper in the air. I needed answers, I needed to know.

I waited for Donnie to answer me, but I caught him staring just beyond me.

" Donnie. Donnie are your listening?!" I cried.

" I, um." Donnie stuttered and rubbed the back of his head, in search for words.

" And don't say you wrote them down to studied what I said because I had this before I started having my dreams." I warned.

" I can't say either." Donnie replied regretfully.

" See, you have your secret and I have mine." I pointed out. I let my hand drop dead to my side. I was emotionally exhausted.

" You have two secrets." Donnie muttered under his breath, but I heard him.

" What other secret do I have?" I challenged.

" You keep it a secret of what Donnie you loved more!" He shouted, " The one where I forgot you, or me as I am right now...all messed up."

" Well you have two secrets too!" I countered back. I wasn't going to answer his question now, manly because I didn't have an answer.

" Like what?"

" Like you won't tell me who this 'he' is that's going to hurt me!" I reminded him, "Don't I deserve to know?"

" But-" Donnie began.

" But what?" I interrupted him, " But you can't tell me that either? Yeah, I figured that."

" So, now what? Are we just never gonna tell each other what we're hiding?" Donnie questioned. I could tell that he doesn't want to keep his secrets a secret forever.

" Is there even a choice?" I declared.

" So where just gonna keep it hidden forever?"

" Yeah...I guess so." I admitted sadly and walked out of the door. I couldn't handle the sad pleading look in Donnie's eyes. I couldn't handle the guilt of hiding something big from the turtle I love.

" Yo peanut, what's up?" Raph greeted me as he walked out of the kitchen with a bag of 'butter buddies' popcorn.

I just walked right passed him with tears forming in my eyes. I quickened my paste until I reached my room. I threw open the curtain then slashed it closed again. So much has happened during this one week, I couldn't process all of this. Everything is to overwhelming. So I broke down.

I cried into my pillow and through the sheets over my head. I didn't know what time or how long I cried for. But one thing I do know is that I cried myself to sleep.

* * *

" Taylor! Taylor please wake up!" Donnie shook me back and forth until I awoke.

" Donnie." I whispered his name and jumped into his arms. This scene seemed to replay over and over every night. I had just woke up from yet another dream. It was always about the same thing. My vision. And every night Donnie would come and shake me till I woke up.

" Your safe now Taylor." Donnie stroked my back for comfort until my breathing slowed.

" Your okay..." I whispered more to myself then to Donnie. He wasn't dead, no one was dead. Everyone was okay.

" Of course I'm okay." Donnie sounded a little shocked. He pulled me out of the hug and hung on to my shoulders, " Taylor. I'm begging you, please tell me what you dream about."

I let out a little whimper and shook my head. I closed my eyes tightly as tears streamed down my face. I wanted to go back into Donnie's arms, I waited for him to hold me again. But he never did.

I opened my eyes and seen Donnie staring at the corner of my room. His gaze went just pass me. He was staring at my corner angrily. In fact I've never seen Donnie this angry before. A fire was obviously burning inside of him.

" That's it." He muttered and got up. Donnie marched to the corner and swiped his hand through the air. Nothing was there, so what was Donnie looking at?

" Donnie, what are you doing?" I cried. I had to admit, Donnie was scaring me a little bit. He was swiping viciously at the air, like he was trying to choke it.

Donnie turned around with a surprised look in his eyes. Had he forgotten that I was there? He glanced at the wall then back to me.

" Uh, nothing." He hesitated but came back and sat back down on my bed, " You just lay down and go back to sleep." He instructed softly and kindly.

As Donnie tucked me in, I stared at him suspiciously. He was up to something, but I didn't know what.

" I'll be right back." Donnie told me and got up. Fear instantly struck through me, like if Donnie left, he would get hurt.

" Do you have to go?" I asked and sat back up.

" It'll only be for a moment." Donnie reassured me then left my room.

" What are you up too?" I whispered to myself then got out of bed. I decided to follow Donnie. So I went into ninja stealth mode and sneaked out of my room. I got out just in time to see Donnie run into his room.

I crept silently down the hall and stopped at Donnie's room. He was talking to someone.

" You said you wouldn't hurt her!" Donnie half whispered half shouted.

_Who was he talking to?_ There was no reply. But Donnie continued to speak.

" I didn't betray you!" Donnie spat back at someone. But I only heard Donnie's voice talking.

" What do I have to do?!" Donnie shouted and yet whispered to no one.

There was a moment of hesitation. No one spoke, no sound was made. But after a short while, Donnie spoke again.

"...Fine... I'll do it."

Once again there was no reply.

_**Snooping are we? **_My inner voice suddenly appeared. I only noticed how cold it was now.

" I was just um." I didn't know what to say. That was until I realized that I didn't have to explain myself at all.

_**Well? Speak up. **_

" Why? This is none of your concern." I countered.

_**Oh believe me, this concerns me a lot more then you know. **_

" No, it doesn't." I insisted. My voice getting more and more stern.

_**Oh really? Let's see what Donatello has to say about this.**_ My inner voice taunted. _**Oh, Donnie!**_ It called. And as if on cue, Donnie came out of his room.

" Taylor? How long have- uh, did you hear, uh how much?" Donnie stuttered. His words not making any sense.

**Go ahead, tell him.** My inner voice insisted.

It's voice came from behind me and that's exactly where Donnie was looking. It was as if he could see and hear my inner voice. Curiosity and fear bubbled inside of me. I turned around to see what Donnie was looking that, praying silently that something was behind me. But nothing was there.

" Do you...is there? What?" I cried. I held my hand to my head and ran my fingers through my hair. This was all so much, too much to take in.

" Taylor, I-uh I can explain." Donnie began, reaching out for me.

I dodged out of the way and marched into his room. I refused to think that Donnie had something to do with my inner voice.

" Who were you talking too?" I demanded as Donnie grabbed my arm and spun me around. He and I were standing in the centre of his room.

Donnie's room was dark and dusty. He rarely ever used it and although it was dusty, it wasn't messy. Everything was still organized and neat. Donnie had a dresser in one corner of his room with a few beakers resting on it. Next to his bed was a side table with a stack of books and a table lamp on it. Then across the room was another book shelf, but instead of books, it was filled with inventions that he created.

" I was um talking to uh..." Donnie stammered nervously.

" I'm tired of all the secrets Donnie!" I yelled, forgetting that people were sleeping.

" I know!" Donnie cried back.

_**He was talking to me.**_ My inner voice spoke with wicked amusement.

" No." I shook my head in disbelief, " Your not real! Your only in my head!"

_**Not real? I can make anything real if I really wanted to.**_ My inner voice sounded as if it was up to something. _**Such as this. **_

As it finished it's sentence, I heard a small snapping sound. Like it was snapping it's fingers or something. But whatever it was. It made my vision go red.

" Taylor!" Donnie called out to me desperately.

Only now did I noticed that I was looking around his room frantically. I couldn't see anything except the colour of blood.

" Taylor!" Donnie called again.

I spun around and seen Donnie in front of me. He was standing in front of me, covered in blood and terribly injured. This was my vision, except instead of me being in the dojo...I was in Donnie's room. This was real.

" Donnie." I stretched out and caressed Donnie's face. At my touch, his blood went on my hands. Covering them. I took them back in alarm.

" Taylor." Donnie looked at me worried. He didn't have the same look he usually had when I get my vision. He's usually scared, or hurt. But right now pure concern was coming off of him.

Everything was like it's usual self, except it was all drenched in blood. Every time Donnie talked blood would come pouring out of his mouth. I knew that I was living my vision. It was no longer just a dream.

I stared at my hands in horror. Donnie's blood was all over them, it was dripping off of them. There was blood on my shirt and quickly soaking me all over.

" Taylor are you alright?" Donnie asked and grabbed a hold of me. His grip was firm but I pushed him away. Bloody hand prints were now stained on my arms.

I suddenly felt as if I couldn't breath.

" This can't be real." I whispered breathlessly. I gripped my head, my nails digging into my skull and scrunching my hair.

I had to get out of here. I ran past Donnie and down the hall. With every step I took a blood trail followed me.

_**You can't run forever.**_ My inner voice whispered in my ear.

I ran in the living room and everyone was gathered there. Turns out we must of woke them because they looked as if they were about to come and get us.

I stared at them in terror. They all looked like they do in my vision. Splinter was standing at the back of the group, bleeding and nearly hairless. Next Mikey was laying on the couch looking at me scared. He didn't know what the heck was going on, but he was missing his arms and legs. Bleeding out and staining the couch and the floor.

" Taylor?" Raph tilted his twisted head. His neck was turned all the way around and broken. He should be dead on the floor, but somehow he wasn't.

" Taylor are you alright?" Leo called. He was standing right in front of me. Blood poured out of his dug out eye-sockets.

I screamed at the sight and dug my nails harder into my head. My inner voice was driving me insane. I couldn't take it much longer. I couldn't stand here for another second. All of their pleading eyes stared at me in concerned, all of their blood was soaking the floor and slowly making it's way towards my feet. Even Karai, who was standing next to Splinter, was all bloody and wounded. And she wasn't even in my vision. I felt my self start to hyperventilate.

" Get away from me!" I screeched. I was screaming at my inner voice. I could hear my faint voice laughing a mocking laugh in the background.

I slashed my hands through the air in the direction that my inner voice was laughing. Truthfully I almost scratched Leo with my nails. But he dodged out of the way as I scraped at air.

_**Missed me. **_My inner voice teased.

" Go away." I screamed and dug my nails back into my head. I felt blood start to trickle down my face. I froze. This blood, was my blood. It was real. I was physically hurting myself because of my inner voice.

I had to leave. I had to get out of here. I couldn't stand here for another second, staring at my wounded family. Their blood on my hands. It was driving me crazy! So I ran. I ran out of the lair.

" Taylor! Stop!" Donnie's desperate voice shouted behind me. But I ignored it. I knew that if I turned around all I would see is blood.

So I ran faster. But only seconds later I heard footsteps behind me. I turned my head as I ran and I seen Donnie charging towards me. He shouldn't be able to run. He shouldn't be able to stand with his injuries. His faced was scratched and his legs were torn. Blood swelled out of him but somehow he was able to run.

"This isn't real!" I shouted to myself. But I kept running. It was getting harder and harder to run. I was breathing fast and heavily. My legs were sore and my lungs felt as if they could pop. Eventually, I did slow down as the stinging in my chest was unbearable. And Donnie did catch up to me.

" Taylor." He came up from behind me and spun me around. I refused to look at him and stared at the ground. I shut my eyes tightly. All I saw was darkness, and that was okay with me. If I closed my eyes, I couldn't see, and if I couldn't see, I wouldn't be able to see anymore blood.

_**Stop fighting me Taylor!**_ My inner voice echoed in my ears. It's voice was booming loud.

" Get away from me!" I screamed, forgetting that Donnie was here with me.

" Taylor I'm not leaving you!" Donnie shouted back at me. He thought I was talking to him, but I wasn't.

I tried to answer him but all that escaped my lips were sobs. I rubbed my arms as I cried. It was freezing. And I think I know why.

" Taylor..." Donnie's soft voice filled my ears. It was relieving to hear a comforting voice, " I'm right here." Donnie pulled me into a hug and tried to stop me from shaking. But I pushed him away. I could feel his body bleeding against mine.

" Don't touch me!" I shouted. I gripped my head again as I got a splitting headache.

**Let me in Taylor. **My inner voice commanded.

" No! Get away from me! Leave me alone!" I screamed and shook my head violently.

" Taylor stop!" Donnie pleaded, " I can help you!"

" No you can't!" I screamed and opened my eyes. To my relief, everything was back to normal. Donnie was no longer covered in blood and his blood was no longer on my hands. Although there was blood dripping from my head from me digging my nails into it.

" Yes I can!" Donnie insisted and reached out for me. I shoved his shaking hand away from me. I was afraid that if he came near me, I would hurt him. Or at least my inner voice would hurt him. But my inner voice seemed to have gone away. My vision was normal and the air around me was no longer freezing.

" No, I-I need you, you need to-to hate me." I stuttered everything that my inner voice told me to do, " Splinter! I need to Splinter, tell him-I-Leo." My sentences would not form in my mouth.

" Your not making any sense." Donnie cried.

" Nothing makes sense anymore!" I laughed crazily as I realized that it was true. With all the secrets, and all the strange behaviours and with my inner voice. Nothing was like it was once before. Everything was messed up.

" But I can help it makes sense." Donnie confessed and finally grabbed a hold of my arm. He pulled me towards him and held my shoulders.

" How?" I asked in disbelief. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I prayed that Donnie actually did have an answer.

" Because I know!" Donnie practically shouted. His eyes were wide in hope that I knew what he meant. I had a hunch, but I didn't know how much of it was true.

" Know what?" I wondered with a pleading tone. Donnie knows a lot of things, he's a freaking genius. There's so many things in the world that he could talk be talking about.

" I know about your inner voice!" Donnie admitted.

I froze. My hunch was correct. I didn't know if I should be thrilled or terrified.

" What?" My voiced suddenly got calm as I whispered. I needed to make sure that I heard him right.

" I know about your inner voice." Donnie repeated more calmly this time as well.

" H-how? I've never told you about it." I stuttered, still shocked. Even though I had seen this coming, it was still shocking news.

" Because your inner voice is haunting me to." Donnie informed me, " It talks to me and I talk to it. Your inner voice is the 'him' that I was scared that was going to hurt you."

" Why-why didn't you tell me?" I asked. The question was spinning in my mind.

" Because he told me not to."

" My inner voice is a he? But it sounds just like me." I thought out loud, puzzled.

" He can change it's voice. When it talks to me, it's a boy. So I just assumed." Donnie sputtered. Donnie never assumes on anything. He either knows, or is going to find out.

" Do you know what it is?" I asked desperately. For months now I've been trying to figure out what my inner voice is, why it is haunting me. This was my chance to find out at least one answer.

" Yes, I think." Donnie told me. He still held on tight to my shoulders. He was staring into my eyes, and I stared back into his, searching for answers.

" Will you tell me?" I pleaded.

" Depends..." Donnie began. His eyes that were confessing everything to me, suddenly grew stern and serious, " Do you believe in ghost?"

* * *

**Dun! Dun! Dun!...I really have no explanation or any words to say right now. So erm...please leave a review and hopefully your enjoying the story! :) **


	10. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I stared at Donnie in confusion. I was still breathing heavily from my vision. It scared the heck out of me and now Donnie and I stood in the sewer halls alone. I could feel the blood drying on my head and the tears drying on my cheeks.

" Ghost?" I echoed the words Donnie had spoken. What did he mean believe in ghost? I got this sunken feeling that what I already know about my inner voice is nothing compared to what Donnie is about to tell me.

" Well it's not technically, um...uh..." Donnie sighed and wiped is hands over his face, " It's...it's complicated."

I just stared at Donnie and shook my head slightly.

" No more, no more secrets Donnie. I'm tired of hiding everything, keeping everything I want to tell you a secret." I decided and took a step forward. I pressed my hands against Donnie's chest and looked up at him, " Please tell me."

Donnie looked down at me and met my gaze. He smiled weakly before speaking, " I'll try my best. But you may not believe it."

" Try me." I half joked half begged. I didn't think my life could get any more complicated then it already is.

Donnie sighed then spoke, " Some people believe that if you weren't a good person, when you die, before going to heaven you need to serve the devil as one of his demons. Your spirit get's a demon form and a demon name and the only true way to free your sol is to get killed in the same spot you got killed when you were still living, or somehow please the devil and he will set you free."

" Wait I don't understand." I interrupted, " What does this have to do with my inner voice?"

" Demons can not kill other demons nor can they kill themselves." Donnie continued like he hadn't heard my question. I suspected the answer would come soon, " So you either need to get a living person to kill you, somehow please the devil, or just stay in your demon form for eternity."

Donnie paused and took a deep breath. His breaths were shaky and I felt his heart speed up in his chest. I just didn't know why.

" This demon named Midgar haunts me." Donnie confessed and closed his eyes tightly. Like he was remembering something horrible. I pressed closer up against Donnie. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest. I could hear his heart thumping hard.

" He haunts me because I escaped death." Donnie continued, " When-when Shredder tortured me, that was the night I nearly...died. Ever since then, Midgar is trying to make my life miserable. He's trying to drive me so insane that either I'll kill him or myself."

" What?" I blinked up at Donnie in surprise, " K-kill yourself. You wouldn't, right?"

" No, never." Donnie nearly laughed, " If I did, that means I would have to live in a world without you. I can't even begin to imagine what that would feel like."

" Me too." I smiled and fought back the tears threatening to fall. We had to stay on track, " So you were saying? About Midgar?" I prompted.

" Right." Donnie nodded, " See, while Midgar haunts me, he's also haunting you. Midgar is your inner voice."

" That's impossible. My inner voice is in my head. Not some, demon thing." I countered.

" Actually, Midgar is your inner voice. Since you haven't had a near death experience, you can't see him. I can." Donnie explained.

" What does he look like?" I asked, still not convinced that both Donnie and I were being haunted by a demon.

" You don't want to know." Donnie assured me.

" So, why is Midgar haunting me?" I wondered. Confusion bubbled inside of me.

" He's haunting you to get to me." Donnie answered with the utmost of confidence.

He was so sure of this. And then, it was like the fog in my brain has lifted. Everything made sense now. I understood why Midgar wanted Donnie to hate me. I knew why he sends me those awful visions. I know why every time my inner voice talks to me, it gets cold. I mean, he comes from the freaking underworld! The stench of death is in his breath, he's living breathing cold!

" Ohhhhhh." I exasperated as I had my epiphany.

" What?" Donnie asked and cocked an eyebrow.

" I understand now! I know why he wanted us to break up!" I blurted out without thinking.

" What do you mean?" Donnie stared at me puzzled. I froze as I just realized what I had said. Donnie doesn't know that the main reason why we broke up is because I was trying to protect him from Midgar. Turns out this whole time, I was just helping Midgar. Donnie still thought it was because I didn't want him to get hurt again, and part of that was true, but now he's about to find out the whole reason.

" Well you see." I began, feeling nervous, " Remember when we broke up?"

" Of course I remember! Why wouldn't I?" He snapped and pushed me away.

At first I didn't understand why Donnie had snapped. Then I realized what I said. We try not to use the words remember or forget around Donnie. Those words bring back terrible memories for him, for this whole family.

" Donnie I didn't mean it like that." I told him gently. Donnie sighed and responded,

" I know, It's just-I" Donnie growled as words failed him. But I knew exactly what he meant.

" It's okay." I gave him a reassuring smile. He smiled back at me.

" So you were saying about our break up?"

" Yeah. Well, you know how I said that I didn't want you to get hurt again and how I was scared? How I told you that you were too late?" I reminded him. The words stung in the back of my throat as they escaped my mouth.

" Could we just get to the point? Please." Donnie croaked as the words got stuck in his throat as well.

" Right well um. I lied. When I said you were too late, that was the biggest lie I've ever told...Anyway." I continued, " The reason why I told that lie is because my inner voice told me too. Midgar had sent me a vision." I shuddered at the thought of my vision. That memory will forever haunt me, " He told me if I don't make you hate me, he'll make the vision come true. I-I didn't want that to happen. So I did what he told me to do. I made you hate me."

" So wait." Donnie began, confused, " Two things, first, you broke up with me because a voice that appeared in your head told you too?"

" Yes." I answered shyly. I felt myself got red hot with embarrassment, " I was scared Donnie. If you knew what my vision was about, you would be too."

" Is that what you dream about every night? Your vision?" Donnie questioned and stepped closer to me. His eyes glowed with curiosity and his mask blew in the faint breeze of the sewer.

I nodded my head, unable to speak. I tried my best not to focus, not to spend every waking moment thinking of my vision. But now that Donnie and I were talking about it, it became extremely hard.

" Taylor, what is your dream about?" Donnie took another step closer and took my hands in his.

I flinched as Donnie asked me his question. How was I suppose to tell him? How could I tell him that every night I watch him die right in front of me? That I watch his whole family die and I didn't do anything about it? How could I explain to him that I failed to be there for him and I just let his life waste away into nothing? I couldn't tell him that.

" I-I can't." I stuttered. I'm beginning to hate myself more and more everyday. I'm tired of keeping this from Donnie. I wish I could form words in my head to say out loud, but I can't. Fear is what is stopping me. So how can I stop it?

" Taylor." Donnie spoke gently and held my hands. He pressed them against his chest and I could feel his heart beating strongly, " Do you feel that?"

I nodded my head.

" As long as this heart is beating, I will always be here for you. You can tell me anything, Taylor. I'm here for you. It's time we stop keeping secrets from each other."

_I want to tell you! I wish I could!_ The thoughts screamed in my head. I bit my lower lip and shook my head. I fought back the tears as I tried to think of something to say. But nothing came to mind.

" Would you feel better if I went first?" Donnie offered.

" Yeah." I managed to say. A sad lump was rising in my throat and sobs were trying to escape my lips.

" Let's see, what secrets do I have?" Donnie thought to himself.

" You've never told me who the 'he' was that's trying to hurt me." I pointed out. A sob escaped from my lips.

" Midgar. I was trying to protect you from Midgar." Donnie told me, " I didn't do a very good job." Donnie chuckled a little bit at his last sentence. I chuckled with him for a short moment. Then I stopped and braced myself. I had to tell Donnie about my dream. This was it, this was my chance.

" I dream that you die." I cried and buried my face into Donnie's shoulder. I needed to breath in his sent, I needed to make sure that he was still here. I needed to know that Donnie was still a apart of my reality, " You, and Splinter, and Leo and Raph and Mikey." I sobbed, " I tried to save you! I tried to get to you in time but I failed! I couldn't do it! I let you die Donnie!" As soon as I started explaining my dream, it seemed like I couldn't stop. It just came all flooding right back.

" Oh Taylor." Donnie rubbed my back, trying to calm me down, " I-I didn't know."

I didn't have a response. Of course he didn't know, I've never told anyone. But now, Donnie knows. He knows what I dream about...or does he? Does Donnie truly know? Sure he knows what the dream is about, but he never experienced it. It always feels so real, yet I know it's not. I can always feel the blood of my family soaking into my clothes, drenching me, even though I know it's not. So the question is, does Donnie actually know?

" Wait." I spoke with a shaky voice as I wiped tears away from my eyes. I just got a realization, " So, is Midgar a boy?"

" Well, when Midgar speaks to me, he uses a male voice...so I just kinda assumed." Donnie shrugged.

" Huh, when he talks to me, Midgar sounds like me." I noted.

" Wow, that must be weird." Donnie remarked.

" You really think that after all I learned tonight, Midgar sounding like me would be the weirdest thing?" I looked at Donnie in a disbelieving kind of way. But humour was hinting in my voice and glowing in my eyes.

" Hmm, I guess your right." Donnie smiled as he agreed with me.

" Wait, the great genius Donatello was wrong? What has the world come too?" I teased. Donnie cocked an eyebrow at me and held his hands up in a defensive mode.

" Hey I've never said Midgar sounding like you was the weirdest thing ever, I just thought it be weird for you."

" Nice save." I commented. Donnie smiled a thanks to me.

" C'mon, let's go back to the lair." Donnie suggested and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

We began walking and although it started quiet, it didn't last very long. As we walked I notice that Donnie wasn't limping as much as he use too.

" Hey Donnie, how's your leg?" I asked and glanced down at his once broken leg.

" Well you know, it's on again off again. Sometime it's stiff and sometimes it's fine." Donnie shrugged, " But those are commen side-effects once a broken leg heals."

I smiled slightly. Was there anything Donnie didn't know?

Silence fell over us once again. I began to think to myself about mine and Donnie's earlier conversation. He'd told me about my inner voice. And turns out it some demon thing haunting him, and me._ Can my life get any weirder? It's amazing how life can throw unexpected turns at you. You think you know what's gonna happen, you have your entire life planned out. Then, the unexpected happens._

" Hey Donnie?" I started up the conversation again. As I was thinking about mine and Donnie's conversation, I've realized Donnie didn't tell me something.

" Yeah?" He responded without looking down at me.

" What was the second thing?" I asked. Donnie looked at me confused. This mouth was in a perfect little circle, his missing tooth was just barely showing. He had one brow raised and the other one titled.

" What second thing?" He asked, puzzled.

" Well when I told you about my inner voice and how it wanted you to hate me. You said there were too things you were going to say. But, you never told me the second thing." I explained.

" Oh." Donnie's eyes brightened as he seemed to remember what he was going to say, " I was going to tell you that, making me hate you would be an impossible task."

I stopped dead in my tracks. When I did so, Donnie stumbled forward then looked back at me. His faced once again held a puzzled, confused look to it.

" What?" Donnie looked at me curiously.

" But, you told me you hated me. At the breakfast table." I reminded him.

Donnie gave me a sad look. His brown eyes depended and blended in with his pupils. So his eyes were like a puppy-dog's. He took a few steps towards me until him and I were only a few inches apart. His sad brown eyes stared into mine and took my breath away. Sometimes I just want to freeze time and stare into his eyes forever. Because I never know when the moment will end, or when it will be the last time I look into those eyes.

" Taylor, I've never hated you." Donnie began softly. His voice was higher then a whisper, but just as gentle, " I hated myself...for not hating you. No matter what you did, or what you do. I could never hate you." Donnie smiled and brushed a piece of my brown hair out of my face.

It was like time froze and I was just standing here with Donnie. I was staring into his eyes and him into mine. He was looking at me with love glowing bright on his face. My heart sped up in my chest and it suddenly became hard to breath. Donnie was the sweetest person I've ever met, and he's mine. I want to stay with Donnie forever, spend my life with him. I don't care what I had given up, it was worth it. I would give or do anything for Donnie. He is my life, he is my world. And I too, could never hate him. He could do anything in the world and I would still love him with all my heart.

Donnie gave one last smile at me before we started to walk again. Our sweet moment ended and I must say I was a little sad. I wanted to go back and take a picture of it. Then I could keep it forever. But I guess memory would have to do.

" Donnie?" I looked up at him as a question popped into my head.

" Yeah?" He looked down at me.

" So we know what my inner voice is..." I stated.

" Yeah..." Donnie responded and waited for me to continue my sentence.

"...But, do we know how to stop it?" I wondered. The thought pricked at my stomached like a thorn.

Donnie sighed then answered, " Honestly? I have no idea."

And that answered my previous question too, I guess Donnie didn't know everything.

* * *

**So, I decided to update my story now because I'm going camping for a day or two and I don't know when or if I'll have time to update it. But none the less, hope you enjoyed and please review. I'll be back in a couple of days. **


	11. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I was sitting in Donnie's lab. He was sitting in his usual chair and I pulled up an extra stool that I got from the kitchen. It's been two days since Donnie told me everything he knew about my inner voice. And I must say, it's pretty weird.

Over the past two days, Donnie had cleaned out my head wound that I made with my nails. We also sat in his lab from time to time talking and gathering as much information about Midgar that we could. And that's what we're doing right now.

So him and I were sitting in his lab doing research. We wanted to get to the bottom of everything. We wanted to know how to defeat Midgar, how to get rid of him or her. We're not really sure what it is. We were on his laptop but unfortunately there's not a lot of information on demon voices.

" So, I thought the way to get rid of Midgar is to kill him in the same place of how he died." I reminded Donnie of what he had told me.

" It's not that simple." Donnie closed his eyes and shook his head for a moment. When he opened them again, he began scrolling down his computer screen. We had searched up demons and beliefs, "See we don't know who Midgar is. He could be some random dead stranger who wants to be free and just happened to choose us to haunt. And plus, since we don't know who Midgar is, how do we know how he died?"

" hm, good point." I agreed as I reflected on what Donnie had said, " What happens if you died of like, a heart-a-tack or something?"

There was a pause before Donnie answered me. He was staring intensely at the screen, reading what it said.

" Um, I'm guessing you would just stab them in the heart or something. Like if someone died of liver cancer, you would stab their liver."

" I guess that makes sense." I answered and narrowed my eyes, deep in thought, "Find anything?"

" Not much." Donnie mumbled through his hand, which was placed on his mouth. I could tell Donnie was getting frustrated by not knowing something. He hated that.

" Why don't we write down what we know about Midgar so far?" I suggested, trying to get Donnie distracted. I reached for a note book about a foot away from me. I grabbed it then got a pen from Donnie's black pen holder. The coloured pens were organized and categories by colour and alphabetical from the colour. Like it would go Black, Blue, then Green, and so on.

" Sure." Donnie sighed and closed his laptop. He set it aside and scooched closer to me. I held a black pen in my left hand and flipped to a random page in the notebook. I began writing by titling the page 'Things about Midgar.'

" Okay, so where should we begin?" I asked and tapped the pen against the desk.

" Uh, we know Midgar's a demon." Donnie stated and passed his hands over his face. He was getting tired, it was after all, getting late.

" Okay, good." I nodded and took note of what Donnie said, " We know that Midgar is my inner voice."

" -And that he haunts both you and me." Donnie added and I jotted down the notes.

" Um, the only way that we know how to get rid of Midgar is too kill him in the same place of where he died." I suggested. Donnie nodded and I wrote it down.

" When Midgar speaks to me, I can see him because I had a near death experience."

" Oh and that it get's really cold when Midgar is about to speak to me." I added on to Donnie's last sentence.

" We know that Midgar tries to make our lives miserable, he haunts you to get to me." Donnie noted and I wrote down word for word of what he said.

As I was writing, Donnie's words kept repeating in my head. 'He haunts you to get to me'. Midgar was the main source of our break-up. And that was one of the worst time of my life. Midgar sure does a good job at making people miserable. Then, I thought of something. Something that I shoulder have thought of long before.

" Donnie!" I shrieked his name in alarm.

" What? What's wrong?!" Donnie jumped up in alarm, suddenly wide awake.

" Oh shoot." I mumbled to myself and placed my hands on my forehead, " How could I be so stupid?"

" What are you talking about?" Donnie's voice calm again as he sat back down.

" You know how Midgar haunts me to get to you?" I said without looking at him.

" ..Yeah?..." Donnie spoke with a nervous tone.

" And you know how Midgar was one of the reasons why we broke up?"

" Taylor where are you going with this?" Donnie asked, although he didn't sound impatient.

" Well, that was bad. It was terrible. And...I think I made a huge mistake." I confessed. I looked down at the table with my head in my hands.

" What did you do?" Donnie said with worry. He placed a hand on my back for comfort.

" I-I told Splinter about Leo's odd behaviour." I began.

" Isn't that a good thing?" Donnie questioned as he interrupted me.

" Midgar told me to do it." I finished.

" What?!" Donnie jumped up from his chair again in panic, " Why would you do that! You practically made a deal with the devil!"

" I didn't know at the time!" I defended myself and jumped up from my seat as well, " And technically Midgar is just a demon working for the devil, so ha!"

" Still, it didn't work out last time, what made you think it was okay for the second time?!" Donnie shouted. I knew he wasn't mad at me, just shocked.

" It-it sounded like a good idea. You even agreed before you knew Midgar was the one who suggested it." I pointed out. Donnie just closed his mouth, knowing that I was right, " I need to stop this." I told him and headed my way for the door. But Donnie grabbed my arm and spun me around.

" You can't! No one can know about this." He warned.

" But what if I put Leo in danger?" I countered and tried to break free from Donnie's grip. Knowing that I wouldn't take off, Donne let go of my arm and took a deep breath in to calm himself.

" Taylor, if you tell anyone about Midgar, they'll think we've gone insane, plus Midgar might hurt them if they know. I'm not even suppose to tell you." Donnie pointed out. I glanced down at the floor, knowing he was right. What was I thinking? I couldn't tell anyone about Midgar.

" So what do we do?" I glanced up at Donnie expectantly cause I had no idea.

" All we can do is hope for the best." Donnie explained quietly and looked at the ground.

A pang of guilt shot through me. _How could I have been so dumb? What was I thinking? Why did I ever listen to-_

Donnie's yawn interrupted my thoughts and brought me back into reality.

" Tired much?" I asked jokingly.

" Yeah," Donnie muffled through a yawn, " Just a bit."

" Want to go to bed?" I asked. A nervous feeling bubbled in my stomach. I've always hated going to sleep then waking up to Donnie shaking me with tears in his eyes. For weeks now I've been dreaming about my vision.

" Will you be okay?" Donnie wondered, concern echoed through his voice.

" Yeah, it'll just be like any other night." I shrugged, pretending not to care.

" Hey, do you speak to Midgar before he sends you your dream?" Donnie wondered and stepped closer to me.

" Yeah, but only for a little bit. He, or in my case she, usually just says 'sweet dreams' then my vision comes." I explained, my heart clenched with fear as I remembered those awful dreams.

" Do you think you could find something out about Midgar. Like how he died or something?" Donnie asked and rubbed my arms.

I didn't answer right away because for moment I just wanted to enjoy Donnie's gentle touch.

" I guess I could try." I agreed, sorta taken by Donnie's comforting stroking.

Donnie smiled at me, eyes glowing.

" Your very brave." He whispered and bent down. He kissed me for a moment or two before we walked out of his lab and to my room. Everyone else was already asleep, so we made sure to be quiet.

" Goodnight." I whispered to Donnie as he got into my bed beside me. Donnie usually sleeps in my bed with me. He figures there's no point in going to his room, since he's only gonna come running in here to wake me up.

" Goodnight." Donnie whispered back and gave me one last kiss goodnight before I closed my eyes and drifted off into sleep.

I was standing in a dark room. Everything was black, I couldn't see anything except for my own body. This was how my dream always started. I would stand in a pitch black room, and then everything would get cold. And it did just that. The air around me felt like it froze. The frosty breeze that blew in my dream world felt like it was cutting through my skin.

**Sweet dreams. **Midgar whispered right in my ear. It was using my voice as always.

I remembered what Donnie told me to do and before my vision would start shifting I called out to Midgar.

" Hey! Midgar wait!"

**What? **Midgar called back. I was surprise that it actually listened.

" Let's talk." I suggested mischievously.

**Wait, how do you know my name?** Midgar asked.

I froze, and no not because of the cold air, but because I let his name slip out of my mouth. But suddenly remembering passed conversation that Midgar and I have had, I decided to play the upper hand this time, seeking out the advantage.

" I thought you knew everything, that your always watching me, that I can never escape you." I reminded her in a taunting way. For once I might actually have the winning point.

**Yeah well, I um. What do you want?** My inner voice suddenly changed the subject.

" Oh, just to talk." I shrugged casually. I didn't want Midgar to suspect anything.

**Oh yeah? About what? **

" Nothing in particular. I just think we need to catch up. You know everything about me, but I know barely anything about you." I implied. I sat down on the black floor and crossed my legs. I wanted that my inner voice saw that I was getting comfortable and wasn't about to move.

**You already know plenty about me.** Midgar sneered. It sounded as if she was standing right in front of me, yet I couldn't see her.

" Like what? I only know your name." I huffed, praying that Midgar didn't listen in on mine and Donnie's earlier conversation.

**You know I can appear whenever I like. You know that I have great power. **

" Yet I only know a fraction of what you can actually do?" I predicted as I finished Midgar's sentence.

**Precisely.** Midgar agreed. I felt a rush of cool air, Midgar must be walking circles around me.

" What else can you do besides send me my vision?" I challenged and raised an eyebrow.

**I can harm you, but you can't lay a finger on me.** Midgar replied with pride glowing. I could almost smell it's foul breath near my face.

_Yes I can!_I thought to myself._ I just need to kill you in the same place you died._

" Yeah sure you can." I replied and crossed my arms. I was trying to make Midgar angry so that she reveal something about herself, anything at all.

**I can, and I will if you don't stop bugging me!** Midgar warned.

_Wait, why didn't Midgar read my mind?_ I thought as I just remembered Midgar could read minds if she wanted to. Maybe she just didn't read it that time.

" Bugging you!" I yelled and jumped up. Something had snapped inside me, " How about you stop bugging me! How about you just leave me alone!How about you just get out of my head and go away! Huh? Why can't you do that so I can go back to living my old life?!"

The cold black air suddenly let out a high pitched hissing sound and came rushing at me. The deathly cold air hit me like a bolt of lightening and a rush of pain seem to shoot through my shoulder. I screamed in pain and fell on my knees.

**I told you so.** Midgar taunted me one last time before my eyes shot open.

When I woke up, I found myself on my floor. I had fallen out of my bed and now I layed on the floor gripping my shoulder. Donnie was knelt at my side, eyes wide. His hand was reaching out towards me but was not touching me, he look as if he was afraid to touch me, like if I would break.

" Taylor, are you alright?" Donnie's soft voice slowly came to my ears. I was always dazed after a visit from Midgar, and it usually take's a little while before my hearing comes back to me.

" I-I think so." I grumbled and struggled to sit up. Pain was searing through my shoulder and hurt every time I moved it.

" What's wrong with your shoulder." Donnie asked and shifted closer to me.

" I'm not really sure." I said through gritted teeth and tried to stand up. Donnie immediately saw my struggled and helped me back into my bed.

" Here, let me have a look." Donnie advised and pulled down the sleeve of my purple pyjama T-shirt. He stared at my shoulder wide-eyed and I glanced down at it. A huge bruise was covering over half of my shoulder. It was black and blue with a little red in the middle, all the signs of a fresh bruise was on my left shoulder.

I remained speechless as I stared at Donnie with horror surging through me. It was literally the biggest bruise I've ever seen.

" Did Midgar touch you?" Donnie asked urgently. His eyes and voice was firm.

" Yeah, I think so. I mean there was this rush of cold air on my shoulder, so I assume it was Midgar touching me." I told him, " Is that bad?"

" Well considering Midgar works for death, I would say so. They say a demon's touch can kill. We're lucky this one just bruised you." Donnie explained and examined my shoulder, touching it slightly in certain areas. Each time he layed a finger on it, I flinched.

" Wait, doesn't Midgar want you dead?" I questioned and flinched again as Donnie poked the top of my shoulder.

" Yeah, but if he killed me, it would do him no good. His soul won't go free if he, or any other demon kills me. So there's really no point." Donnie informed and put my sleeve carefully back on me.

" How do you know all this?" I asked, amazed. I couldn't find out one thing about Midgar, but Donnie seems to know so much about her, well to Donnie it's a him. Since Midgar talks to me as me, I think of her as a girl, but to Donnie Midgar talks in a guys voice.

" Books, research, and sometimes I can get Midgar to reveal some information." Donnie stated, "How's your shoulder?"

" Sore." I said and rolled my shoulder. It was already getting stiff and felt like a weight had been dropped on in.

" How well do you think you can hide it?" Donnie wondered and looked at me expectantly.

" Um. I dunno, depends what happens. Like if we're just sitting on the couch, pretty good. But if I get into a wrestle match with Raph, not so well."

Donnie chuckled at my response.

" Just, don't wrestle with Raph, ever." Donnie advise with a smile. There was brief pause of silence between us. Donnie shifted his eyes around hesitantly before speaking again, " Did, did you find out anything about Midgar?"

" No, nothing really. All we talked about was how 'powerful' he is." I replied with disappointment. We really need to know more about Midgar, and Donnie was counting on me to find something out, but I failed him...again.

" It's okay." Donnie assured. He must of heard the disappointment in my voice, " The information's not worth it if it means you getting hurt."

I smiled weakly at Donnie. He did cheer me up a little bit, but I still felt bad for not doing anything useful.

" You must be tired." Donnie concluded and layed me down in my bed, " Get some sleep, we can talk again in the morning."

" Goodnight...again." I whispered to Donnie as he pulled my covers up. He smiled as he was leaning over me. He stayed there for a moment or two before bending down and kissing me lightly on the head.

I breathed in happily as the sent of Donnie washed through me. The touch of his lips on my head was comforting. For a moment, I forgot all about what we were going to do about Midgar, I forgot about what was going to happen with Leo, I forgot all my worries. I never wanted to loose this moment.

" I love you." Donnie whispered. I could feel his lips moving on my forehead as he spoke his gentle words.

" I love you too." I whispered and closed my eyes. This was my favourite way to fall asleep at night. After waking from my nightmare, having Donnie by my side, telling me that he loves me, knowing that I can finally sleep in peace.

I felt Donnie pull away from me and I heard his footsteps leaving my room. I lost track of him after that as I drifted off into a much needed dreamless sleep.

* * *

**I'm back from camping (actually I was back yesterday or the day before or...something like that) And ugh...I don't have much to say other then hope you enjoyed and please review! **


	12. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

" For today's lesson, we will go one on one. I want to see how you've progressed since we've started." Master Splinter instructed. We were all in the dojo listening to Splinter explain what today's training session would be. We were knelt down in front of the Bonsai tree growing in the dojo, Splinter stood in front of us, walking back and forth, " Raphael, Leonardo, you will begin."

" Hai Sensei." Both Leo and Raph replied simultaneously then stood up. They walked to the centre of the dojo and immediately drew out their weapons. Both of them had a determined glint in their eyes.

" Ready to lose Leo?" Raph taunted with a sly smile.

" Yeah right." Leo laughed, " Look whose talking."

And with the final words, Splinter instructed to start the match. Leo and Raph circled around each other for a short moment before Raph charged at Leo.

Leo quickly and swiftly moved out of the way and landed a swift blow to Raph's shell as he stumbled past him. While the hit was hard enough for Raph to lose balance, it didn't take much effect cause Raph quickly regained his balanced and charged at Leo again. Leo ran at Raph but at the last moment Raph did a flip over Leo's head. When he landed, Raph swept his leg under Leo's feet and knocked him to the ground.

Leonardo reacted quickly and rolled onto his back just in time to block Raph. He crossed his swords in an X formation to block Raph's sai's from hitting him. Kicking up with his legs, Leo flung Raph across the room. Raph crashed on the ground, getting the breath knock out of him. Taking the advantage, Leo got up and jumped on Raph, pinning him to the ground as the red masked turtle gasped for breath.

" Yamai!" Splinter shouted, ending the match. Leo had won. Leo got off of Raph and offered a helping hand to help him up. Raph just pushed away Leo's hand and went to kneel down again.

" Michelangelo, Donatello. Your next." Splinter said then eyed Donatello. Donnie gave a nod to Splinter saying that he was ready to try physical combat again. Donnie usually trained off by himself while his brothers trained together. Splinter had assigned him special training and stretches for his leg. But now, Donnie was ready to try sparing again.

As they stood in the middle of the dojo, Mikey was clenching his nun-chucks nervously and had a wary look upon his face.

" Donnie, are you sure..." Mikey began, trying his best not to offend Donnie.

" Oh yeah." Donnie laughed confidently, " I'm sure."

" Then in that case..." Mikey regain his usual smile, " Booyakasha!" He yelled and thus beginning the match.

With out hesitation, Mikey charged at Donnie. He jumped in the air and kicked out his leg, aiming for Donnie's stomach. Donnie moved out of the way and let Mikey crash on the floor. But with a forward roll, Mikey quickly regain his balance.

The orange clad turtle got back on his feet and swung his nun-chucks in the air. Their was a happy gleam glistening in his baby blue eyes. He charged at his older brother and tried to hit him with his nun-chuck. Donnie countered by letting Mikey's nun-chuck wrap around his BO-staff. But with a neat twist, Donnie turned around and flung Mikey over his shoulder and onto the ground.

While Mikey did loose one of his nun-chucks, he rolled over and in an instant he was back on his feet. Mikey came at Donnie with his single nun-chuck. Donnie swiped his staff beneath Mikey's feet but Mikey quickly jumped over it and kicked Donnie in the back. He stumbled forward and Mikey took the advantage and came running towards Donnie once more. Seeing what his little brother was planing, Donnie reacted quickly. It was like he was defying gravity, because within seconds Donnie had placed his staff firmly on the ground and jumped up. He swung himself in the air, the only thing on the ground was his staff. Both his legs were up in the air and he kicked Mikey right in the stomach. He sent him flying across the room and banging into the wall, Donnie had won the match.

" I did it!" Donnie breathed heavily yet excitement glowed brightly in his eyes.

" Good one bro." Mikey replied weakly. He was still laying on the floor, panting from his defeat.

" Well done my sons." Splinter nodded his head in approval. He then glanced at Leo and told him that he would now spare with Donnie. Leo bowed respectfully to his Sensei then got up off his knees. Both Donnie and Leo bowed to one other then took their battle stance.

" Hajimai!" Splinter called the battle beginning words.

Leo and Donnie circled each other for a moment. Last time they had battled, Donnie took a panic attack and fell to the ground. But now absolutely no fear glowed in Donnie's eyes. Just determination and desire to win. He was still glowing with pride from his last victory and wanted to take a second one, to truly prove that he was healed.

Leo charged at Donnie with both of his katanas gripped firmly in each hand. Donnie blocked Leo's swords with his staff. For a brief moment, the katanas were stuck in the BO-staff. Donnie took advantage of this and dropped to the ground with one leg and sweeping out with the other, hoping to trip Leo.

But Leonardo was too fast and swiftly jumped over Donnie's leg. Gripping his stuck swords, Leo hoisted himself in the air and flipped over Donnie, wrenching his katanas free. He also kicked Donnie in the back of the shell to unbalance him. Doing a forward roll, Donnie immediately got back on his feet and turned to face his oldest brother. This time Donnie went running at Leo. While his BO-staff swung at Leo's head, Donnie reached out with his foot and unbalanced Leo, causing him to drop to the floor. Leo's legs went up in the air and Donnie took hold of one of them and flipped Leo a second time.

Leo hit the floor with a grunt. Donnie waited to see if Leo would get back up or if he had defeated him. Beside me, Karai was knelt down. She smirked and let out a muffled laugh as Leo hit the floor.

The feeling of the dojo changed, as if something bad was going to happen. It was like something had snapped in Leo's brain and was now on fire.

Leo got up with pure anger taking over his beautiful ocean blue eyes. But the soft caring look that was always in them had vanished. Leo doesn't usually have a bad temper, and he never fights with anger or hatred. But the look in Leo's hate filled eyes struck fear into my system. Something wasn't right.

Leo let out an enraged battle cry and charged at Donnie with his katanas high in the air. Donnie looked startled and surprised, had he too notice the strange look in Leo's eyes?

Without having time to react, Leo rammed his shoulder into Donnie. Donnie stumbled a few steps backwards, trying to regain his balance. But Leo didn't stop there, he ran at Donnie and swung his katanas at him, only missing Donnie's flesh by an inch as Donnie quickly stepped out of the way.

The purple masked turtle took the upper hand when he had the chance. Donnie was to the side of Leo and he kicked out his long leg. Donnie kicked Leo in the shell and sent him stumbling a few steps ahead. When Donnie had both legs back on the ground, he need some time to steady himself. His back was facing Leo who he thought was still recovering from his stumble.

But Leo was more then recovered. It was as if something else was controlling Leo because what he did next was cruel and harsh, nothing like the Leo we all know. Leo ran at the defenceless Donnie, who barely had time to turn around before Leo kicked him in the back of the leg. Leo kicked right at the back of Donnie's knee, a move that could easily break someone's leg. And not only was it at the back of the knee, but also on Donnie's already once broken leg. In other words, Leo had kicked the back of Donnie's bad leg.

Donnie let out a scream of anguishing pain and fell to the floor.

" Leonardo!" Splinter shouted and immediately stepped in between them. Leo was usually the one protecting his brothers, not the one they needed protecting from.

Leo stared horrified at Donnie laying on the floor in pain. He couldn't believe what he had just done and the anger that had once filled Leo's eyes had vanished and was replaced with fear and concern.

" Leo! What the heck did you do that for?!" Raph shouted and was about to leap on Leo, but Mikey was quick enough to jump on Raph's back and hold him to the ground. Raph was struggling underneath both Mikey's and now Karai's weight. She too had jumped on Raph to hold him back.

" You are dismissed." Splinter shot a warning glance at us to tell us to all get out, " Take Donatello to the couch." Splinter instructed and moved aside to let Raph and Mikey in. They each took one of Donnie's arms as he limped to the living room. Donnie looked back over his shoulder at Leo. Donnie's eyes wasn't filled with hate or anger, they were filled with pain and worry. He was scared for Leo, not mad at him.

Karai and I got up and followed them out. The last words coming from the dojo that I heard was Master Splinter asking Leo if he could have a word with him.

My attention turned back to the guys as they set Donnie down on the couch. Mikey got a pillow and put up Donnie's leg.

" Is it broken?" Mikey asked Donnie with big round baby blue eyes.

" No, it's fine." Donnie replied a bit harshly. He hated to be fused over, especially by his youngest brother.

" What was Leo thinking?!" Raph growled angrily as he paced back and forth in front of Donnie. Mikey was sitting at the edge of the couch were Donnie was laying down. He was still fluffing up the pillow. Karai sat on the other end of the couch while I stood behind the TV, on the side lines, " He could have broken your leg, again!"

" But Raph, at the angle of Leo's leg, it be physically impossible for a leg to get broken. See Leo was coming at a 20 degree angle in the air when you need at least 25 degrees to do any real damage." Donnie went on one of his little smart speeches, but Mikey and Raph just stared at him blankly.

" Yup, he's okay." Karai piped up from the couch. Even she looked unamused by Donnie's lecture. She had her arms crossed and a dull look in her eyes.

" Yeah, but that's still no excuse for what-" Raph got cut short when Leo walked out of the dojo. Leo looked at us for a moment, his blue eyes look clouded. Then he looked down at the floor and walked down the steps.

No one said anything. The room was dead silent except for Leo's footsteps. He walked right into the living room, but didn't stop there. He walked right past all of us, not making eye contact, not speaking, just hanging his head low and walked towards the exit.

" Leo, where are you going?" Raph once angry voice had faded out and now he sounded worried and curious.

Leo just kept walking, without responding to Raph. The only signed he showed that he actually heard Raph was Leo stopped for a brief moment. But Leo continued to walk, ignoring everyone around him. We watch Leo leave the lair and waited until his footsteps could no longer be heard.

" What was that about?" Mikey was the first to asked the question buzzing in everyone's mind.

We all just shrugged. Why did Leo leave? And will he come back? Just then, Splinter came out of the dojo and walked in the living room.

" Sensei! Where did Leo go?" Raph asked. His bright green eyes sparkled with concern for his older brother.

" He left." Splinter replied calmly.

" Why?!" We all wondered and said simultaneously.

" He left," Splintered continued, " Because... I sent him away."

* * *

**Another chapter posted! This one didn't take as long, so that's good. Next one should be up soon enough. Hope your enjoying the story and please review!**

**PS: To any Leo fans, please don't kill me! DX**


	13. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Donnie and I were in his lab. We were doing more research on Midgar, but neither of us could really concentrate. Splinter gave us some surprising news just the other day. Splinter had sent Leo to Japan to train with an old ninja master. Splinter thought it was best to send Leo away due to his odd behaviour lately. So, with Leo in Japan, that leaves the ninja turtle team without a leader.

I sighed before speaking, " Donnie?"

" Yeah?" Donnie sat up straight and looked at me. He had his head laid down on his desk and he was flicking a pencil up, and when it would roll back down, he would flick in up again. His laptop was sitting on his desk, the screen was black. We never even bothered to turn it on.

" Are you worried about Leo?" I asked the question I already knew the answer too.

" And Raph." Donnie added.

When Splinter had given us the news about Leo leaving, Raph was angry. He kept yelling that Leo abandon us, and then he ran off. Raph left to go cool himself down, but has not returned since.

" He'll be back. And so will Leo. We just have to be patient." I reassured him. I hopped off of his desk and went over to Donnie. I sat down on his knees and wrapped my arms around his neck. I pressed my head against his chest and listened to the beating of his heart.

" Yeah, I know." Donnie sighed and squeezed me in his arms.

Usually I would have felt comforted in Donnie's arms. I would have felt safe. But with Leo gone and Raph missing, I couldn't help but feel nervous. I was scared that maybe eventually Donnie would leave me, that he would just walk away and leave my side.

" You know I would never leave you, right?" Donnie's words of comfort echoed in my ears. It was as if he had read my exact thoughts.

I looked up at Donnie, mystified. I never thought that two people could know each other so much, that they would be able to read each other's thoughts, to know what the other was thinking. But yet again, I never thought two people could love each other so much that the future could throw anything at them and they would still pull through. I never thought two people could be so in love that they would break one other's heart just to protect them. And I never knew your heart could beat so fast that it feels like it will come out of your chest just by glancing at the one you love. But I've been proved wrong.

" I love you." My voice was no higher then a whisper as I buried my face into Donnie's chest. With both Leo and Raph gone, I just wanted Donnie to hold me. I wanted to feel his arms around me, comforting me. I wanted to breathe in his scent. And I can do all of that. Because Donnie is mine, he loves me, " I love you." I repeated. There was no word in the world that could describe how much I love Donnie. Getting choked up, my eyes started to tear.

" Are you okay?" Donnie asked and pulled out of the hug I was giving him. He held on to my shoulders and stared deep into my eyes. But he was careful to not hold my bruised shoulder to tightly.

" Yeah." I hushed. I couldn't speak to loudly unless I wanted to start sobbing. I don't know why I got so emotional, it just..happened.

" Hey, what's wrong." Donnie urged me on as a light stream of tears began to pour down my face.

" I-I don't know." I confessed. I really didn't know why I was crying, " J-just don't ever leave me, okay?"

" I would never leave your side Taylor." Donnie whispered and pressed his forehead against mine, " As long as you never leave me."

I shook my head, " I'll never leave you Donnie, and-and promise me something." I told him.

" Yes, anything."

" Promise me, that's you'll never forget me." I cried. I felt Donnie tense up, he realized that this was more serious then he thought. That I was truly upset.

" O-okay." Donnie stuttered, " But, Taylor, you know that I already promised that you are truly unforgettable." Donnie reminded me of our promises.

It's probably one of my worst fears now. That Donnie will one day forget me, again. That I'll have to get him to fall in love with me for a third time. But what if he doesn't? What if the third time, Donnie would loose interest in me? I need Donnie to breath, I need him to love me. But if he didn't? I don't know what I would do.

" I know! But you have to promise me that you won't forget anything about me!" I wailed. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to blink away the tears, but more just kept on coming, " You won't forget who I am, what I look like, you won't forget my name."

" Hey Taylor, it's okay." Donnie's voice was soft and comforting, kind and caring, " I promise that I will never forget anything about you, not even your name."

" Thank you." I said through my sob. Donnie pulled me in close to his chest. He was rubbing my arm in a comforting matter.

" Will you promise me something?" Donnie asked, " Will you promise me that you'll never leave my side. That you'll be with me till the end? Even if your trying to protect me, don't leave me." And with that last sentence that Donnie said, I felt a wet droplet on the top of my head. I looked up and seen Donnie looking straight ahead, crying.

" I promise." I whispered while still looking up at him. But Donnie didn't look down at me, he kept looking in the distance, " Donnie?" I sat up and his arms dropped down. He looked terrified, but didn't answer me.

I looked right at where Donnie was staring. Nothing was there.

_Midgar!_ I immediately thought. Donnie must be looking at Midgar.

" Donnie are you alright?" I asked again, my voice was getting more panicked. Was Midgar harming him? What was Donnie seeing? What was Midgar doing to him?

His wide eyes shifted to me. The terrified look in Donnie's brown eyes shook me. I don't think I've ever seen Donnie's eyes so wide before.

" Taylor." Donnie's voice was softer then a whisper. Then he raised it again, " Taylor you need to get out of here!"

" What?" I asked, confused. I stood up just as Donnie did.

" Taylor, you need to go! Now!" Donnie yelled at me then pushed me towards the door.

" No! I'm not gonna leave you Donnie. Not ever." I told him and came running back to his side. I had no idea what was going on. Was Midgar talking to Donnie? Where was Midgar? Was Midgar even here?

" Taylor you don't understand, you need to leave!" Donnie cried desperately and tried to push me away. But I clung to his arm tightly. There was no way I was going to leave him right after I promised him I wouldn't.

" Donnie I can't leave you-" I began but stopped when Donnie interrupted me.

" Taylor, what ever happens next, it's not real okay?" Donnie said a bit out of breath. His gaze kept shifting quickly between me and the empty air behind me.

" Donnie what are you talking about?" I asked desperately, getting a bit scared. Donnie was acting weird and panicked.

" It's not real okay?" Donnie now stared at me and only me. His eyes were wide and pleading, " It's not re-" Donnie stopped dead in the middle of his sentence as he dropped to the ground. It was as if his knees gave away underneath him. He landed face first into the floor.

" Donnie?" I called to him, trying to keep the panic that was rising in my throat under control. I took a step towards him . I heard a splash as my foot step into a puddle on the floor. A freezing cold chill ran up my spin and I felt the room go ice cold. I looked down and noticed that the puddle on the floor was a puddle of blood.

I fell to my knees and inched my way towards Donnie. I travelled through the puddle of blood and winced as I felt it soak through my jeans. I ignored it and made my way to Donnie's head. I picked up his head and froze with shock. The sight stuck fear right through me as I gazed upon Donnie and his slit throat. Blood was pouring out of his throat and his eyes were rolled into the back of his head.

" Donnie?" I called out to him again, I could no longer control my shaky voice.

The only response that came from Donnie was a pathetic wheezing sound as more blood dripped out of his neck.

**Something wrong?** Midgar's voice rang in my ears. Oh how I hate how much Midgar sounds like me.

" You!" I shouted and spun my head around. It sounded as if Midgar was right behind me, but like always, nothing was there, " What did you do?"

**What makes you think I did this?** Midgar played like she was the innocent one.

" Of course you did this, nobody else is this cruel!" I scolded as a few tears started to leak out of my eyes.

**What about Shredder?** Midgar questioned. I felt the cool air circle around me as if Midgar was walking circles around me.

" How do you know about Shredder?" I challenged as I fought back my tears and remembered the last thing Donnie said to me. 'What ever happens next, it's not real.'

_Of course! This was all an illusion. Midgar is playing mind tricks again. None of this is real!_

**Oh Taylor, how does it always slip your mind? I know everything. I can do anything I want to, even harm those close to you. **

I didn't respond. I knew all to well how powerful Midgar could be. She loves playing mind games, loves to toy with peoples lives. She likes to harm people, I should know. Midgar's been haunting me for a while now and she already got me and Donnie to break up, Leo to leave and harmed my shoulder.

I turned my attention back to Donnie. His head was on my lap and his blood was soaking into my pants. I bent over and rested my head on Donnie's head. I tried to breath in his scent, but only the scent of death flooded my nose. I couldn't help but let a sob escape from my lips and let a few tears drop onto the floor.

" It's not real, it's not real, it's not real." I whispered to myself and gave a hard blink, trying to wake myself up. But nothing changed.

**It's a pity, isn't it?** Midgar pretended to be sympathetic but didn't have the least bit of sympathy in her voice. **He was a smart one.**

" Shut up!" I shouted through gritted teeth, " You don't know anything about Donnie!"

**I know him better then you think.** Midgar stated then added...**I haunt him too you know.**

" It's. Not. Real." I mumbled to myself. I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. No matter how much I told myself that this wasn't real, I couldn't help but think it was.

**How do you know? I could have actually slit his throat you know. **Midgar challenged.

" No." I almost laughed as I answered and sat up, " No you wouldn't have. You need Donnie. You need Donnie to free you. You can't harm Donnie." I stood up, feeling triumphant, finally figuring something out about Midgar.

**How did you know**- Midgar started but then I interrupted her.

" Your not the only one who talks to Donnie." I smirked and stood up. I knew now that there was no harm in telling Midgar that Donnie told me of her. She can't harm Donnie even if she wanted to.

**Ha. Funny.** Midgar responded flatly as I used the exact excuse she had used on me. **Do you know what else is funny? **Midgar paused for dramatization then spoke again, **This. **It sounded like Midgar gave a flick of her hand and suddenly Donnie's torso jerked up in the air and he started screaming.

A river of tears poured out of my eyes as I stopped the conversation with Midgar and turned my full attention back to the screaming Donnie. He was all tense and twitching. His screams were muffled by the blood pouring out of his slit throat and although his eyes were rolled in the back of his head, a cold gaze of fear and pain were etched hard into them.

" Midgar! Stop!" I begged, even though I know that this isn't real, it sure does feel is. I held Donnie in my arms and I tired to get him to stop shaking, but it didn't work.

**What? You don't like it? **Midgar pretended to sound innocent and clueless.

" Why would I like this!?" I screamed and caressed Donnie's head._ It's not real, it's not real, it's not real,_ I kept repeating in my head._ I have to wake up, I know this isn't real, but how to I snap myself back into reality?_

My thought got interrupted by Donnie's scream. More tears flowed out of my eyes and with every painful scream coming from Donnie, it felt as if a knife would be jabbed into my heart. _Why? Why do I always have to see Donnie hurt?_

" Midgar! Please stop this!" I begged Midgar again. But there was no response this time. _Was Midgar gone? No, she couldn't be, the air around me is still freezing,_ " Midgar!" I called out to my inner voice, but got no response again.

I tired to stagger to my feet, but collapsed on the floor as Donnie let out another scream.

" I won't leave you" I whispered as I bent down over him, " Not ever." And with those words I layed down on the floor next to Donnie and rested my head against him while cuddling close. I let the pool of his blood soak into my clothes. This moment was oddly relaxing, like I lost all feeling in my body and was just lying limp next to Donnie. The only sounds that could be heard was the soft beating of my heart, which I didn't know was possible because seeing and hearing Donnie screaming in that much pain, had killed me inside. So now, I feel nothing. I closed my eyes as I felt completely empty.

My vision was a bit blurry, black spots covered it. I blinked a few times until is was all cleared up. I was feeling kinda hazy, I couldn't remember what happened. But the next thing I knew, I woke up on Donnie's lap

" Donnie?" My voice cracked as I tried to speak. It felt really dry.

" Taylor!" Donnie eyes stretched wide and his words were filled with relief. He pulled me into a huge hug, " Thank goodness, you're okay." Donnie whispered and hugged me tighter.

" What happened?" I asked hastily, still not entirely sure what was going on.

" Midgar...he.." Donnie stuttered as the memories came rushing back to me. I remembered my vision, I remember talking to Midgar, I remember the screams, but what had Donnie witnessed? Had he seen the vision too?

" Donnie, did you..." I began to ask but just by the look upon Donnie's face, I already knew the answer.

" Get the vision? Yeah...I did." Donnie nodded and closed his eyes as if he was remembering his vision, I wondered if it was the same as mine, " Is that what it's like for you?" Donnie continued, " Every night?"

" Yeah." I told him, now knowing that he had the same vision as me, " But except it's you, Leo, Raph, Mikey and Splinter."

" I couldn't imagine going through that each night." Donnie said sympathetically.

" I would say you get use to it, but I'd be lying." I gave a pathetic chuckle as I tried to lighten up the mood, " Umm Donnie?" I said after a brief moment of silence, " What exactly was your vision about?" I wanted to know that for sure we had the same one.

" Well." Donnie gave a hard swallow as if it was hard to speak, " It started with you fainting in my arms. Your throat was slit and blood was everywhere. Midgar started talking to me and the next thing I know your screaming in pain." Donnie paused to take a sharp breath in, " I-I didn't know what to do, it was like I couldn't move at all. All I could do is lay down beside you and close my eyes. When I opened them again, everything was back to normal...except, you were still sleeping..."

" So, did my vision last longer then yours?" I suggested.

" I-I guess." Donnie agreed. He was looking down at the ground, his eyes were sad and his shoulders were slumped.

" Hey, What's wrong?" I asked sincerely and stepped close to Donnie. I put one hand on his chest, then lifted his chin with my other, forcing him to look into my eyes.

" It-it's just." Donnie began then sighed, " I-I don't know what to do." Donnie grabbed my wrist and took my hands off of him. He then walked over to his desk and practically fell into his chair. He set his elbows on his desk and placed his head in his hands, " Everything is falling apart." Donnie continued as I walked over to him and sat on his desk, " Leo left, Raph is who knows where, and Midgar won't leave us alone...and...I-I don't know what to do about it...any of it."

I was about to speak, but a lump got caught in my throat. Donnie was right._ What are we going to do? This team is without a leader and Raph could be anywhere in New-York by now. We're gonna have to take down Shredder at some point, but how are we gonna do that without Leo? And Raph, if he doesn't come back? And Midgar, what are-_

My thoughts got interrupted by Mikey's cheery voice.

" Hey guys! Raph is back!" Mikey's head was peeking through the labs doors as he spoke. Oh Mikey. He doesn't have a care in the world. Always happy, nothing can get him down. Why can't the whole world be like that? Be always happy, never dampen a mood.

" Raph!" Donnie's head popped out of his hands. He flew out of his chair and ran to the living room. I followed quickly behind him.

When I came out of Donnie's lab, Raph and Lily were just walking in the lair.

" Raph!" Donnie shouted and ran towards to his older brother. Raph and Lily only got a few steps into the lair before Donnie ran towards them and tightly hugged Raph.

" H-hey, Donnie." Raph stuttered, taken aback by his brother sudden hug. It wasn't before long Raph wrapped his arms around Donnie too.

" I want a hug!" Mikey whined and jumped off the couch. He ran to his brothers and joined in their hug.

" Why did you leave?" Was the last thing I heard Donnie whisper before Lily walked over to me.

" Hey Taylor." Lily began with her voice soft. She grabbed me by the arm and brought me over to the living room couch.

" Yeah?" I urged Lily onward. The tone of voice she was using sounded as if she had something important to say. Before speaking, Lily looked around the room quickly to make sure no one was listening in to our conversation.

" Guess what!" Lily squealed happily, but softly as she brushed a piece of her blond hair out of her face.

" What?"

" Last night, Raph came to my house." Lily began but I interrupted her.

" To pick up Roger, right?" I assumed. Ever since Christmas, Lily and Raph been sharing Roger, the pet turtle Lily got Raph for Christmas. They usually take turns taking care of Roger. This weeks was Lily's turn, and Raph went to go get him from her house.

" Well, yeah. But that's not what I wanted to tell you." Lily continued, " When Raph came to my house, he looked really upset. My parents weren't home so I invited him in, you know, cause it was raining and stuff...but before he came into my house. Raph-" Lily paused and glanced at Raph with a sparkle in her blue eyes.

" What did Raph do?!" I urged Lily to continue, curious to what happened next.

" He told me he loved me, then we kissed!" Lily smiled brightly.

For a moment, I stood there, speechless.

" And we're officially dating!" Lily continued to bring on her happy news.

" Oh my gosh Lily!" I smiled, not knowing what to say, " This-this is amazing news."

" I know!" Lily jumped up and down excitedly like a little girl.

Suddenly Raph walked over to where us girls were standing and wrapped his arms around Lily, with Roger placed on his shoulder.

" Wha-cha talking about babe?" Raph asked, already using a classic pet name for Lily.

" Nothing." Lily smiled up at Raph. She then stood on her tiptoes and kissed Raph on the lips. Raph kissed her back.

I stood there smiling. It was nice to see Raph's softer side. He's really opened up to Lily, and now he's dating her. For a brief moment, it was like all my troubles and worries were forgotten, and I felt happy.

" Wow, looks like our Raphie's growing up." Mikey teased as he and Donnie walked over to us.

Raph ended his kiss with Lily and glared at his brothers. He still had his arms wrapped around Lily and was holding her gently.

" Hey, with Leo gone now, that means I'm the oldest." Raph sneered and chased after his younger brothers, leaving Lily in great question.

I gave her a look saying not to ask, and that I'll explain later as we watched Raph chase Donnie and Mikey all around the living room.

Raph's words kept echoing in my ears. 'With Leo gone.' For some reason, those words alone brought all my worried thoughts back into my head, my sudden rush of happiness faded away into the darkness of my mind. And I couldn't help but wonder, what will the ninja turtle team do, without their fearless leader?

* * *

***Thinking of something to say...***


	14. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Karai, John, Lily and myself were all sitting on the couch, discussing what we were going to do without Leo here to guide us. You never realize how much you need something, or someone, until they're gone.

" So, whose gonna take Leo's place as leader?" Mikey asked the question everyone was wondering.

" We're not gonna replace Leo." Raph said sternly, " He's coming back."

" Yeah, but not for a while." Donnie added in, " He's probably only getting out of New York now."

" Okay, then whose going to fill in for Leo until he's returned?" Karai re-worded Mikey's last question.

" I am." Raph stated, like it was already decided.

" Wait, why should you lead? I think I should." Mikey pointed to himself and sat up straight. Trying to make himself look bigger and taller, so he would be leader quality.

" Yeah right. You can't lead." Donnie huffed. He sat armed crossed on the couch beside Raph. Mikey sat on the other side of Raph, while I sat beside him. Karai was on the other side of Donnie with John then Lily at her other side.

" Well I don't see you volunteering." Mikey pointed out.

Donnie shrugged casually, " I don't want to lead."

" Well that's a first." Raph mumbled, " I'm the oldest, I should lead."

" Your only older by...uh..." Mikey sat puzzled, as he couldn't remember when Raph's birthday was. Actually, we didn't know when anybody's birthday was. That's why we celebrate mutation day. Donnie was able to calculate their approximate date of birth and who was older then who, but he couldn't conclude on a specific day.

" Leo didn't become leader because he was older. He became leader cause he asked." Donnie reminded us. He was right, Leo was leader because he was most deserving and because he asked. Leo was a natural born leader, besides, if he wasn't leader, what would he be?

" Can I be leader?" Mikey blurted out and raised his hand excitedly, thinking that asking would work a second time.

" No!" Raph and Donnie yelled simultaneously.

" Can I lead?" Karai suddenly piped up.

" Why would we let you lead the team?" Raph asked, rejecting Karai's idea immediately.

" Why not?" She challenged but kept a calm tone to her voice.

" Well...um, because..." Raph stuttered and rubbed the back of his head, searching for an answer.

" Because I'm the enemy." Karai finished Raph's sentence and raised an eyebrow.

" No, it's not that. It-it's just-" Raph stuttered some more, desperately trying to come up with something.

" I get it." Karai shrugged, " I use to be part of the enemy's clan. But, I also use to lead them. So I have the experience." Karai made a fair point.

" Yeah! You guys should let Karai lead the team." John supported Karai and placed his hand on her shoulder. Karai glanced at John's hand and he quickly pulled it away. John began to blush as he rubbed his hand shyly, Karai just laughed.

" I actually think it's not a bad idea." I shared my thoughts as all the eyes turned to me.

" Yeah, me too." Lily supported me, and I gave her a glance of thanks.

" Let me prove to you guys that I'm really on your side. I've been staying with you for almost a year. Can't I earn your trust?" Karai pitched her idea again. I could see the hope sparking in her eyes, she was close to leading a team again.

The three brothers each exchanged a glance then looked at me. I nodded my head in approval as I was apart of their ninja team.

" Alright Karai." Raph announced our decision, " You can lead. But-just don't screw up."

" Would I do that?" Karai questioned, giving Raph a doubting look.

" We did manage to capture you." Raph grimaced, he had a playful look in his eyes. Meaning no harm by the words he said.

" Everyone has off days." Karai shrugged and got up and made her way to the bathroom.

" I'll be in my lab." Donnie announced and got up as well.

" Hey Donnie? Did you finish the toaster yet?" Mikey asked as we moved on from our last conversation. Karai was going to lead the team until Leo comes back.

" Not yet." Donnie sighed and began to walk away.

" But, it's been like a week and a half!" Mikey flung his arms in the air dramatically, " I want some toast!"

" Well, it's going to take some time to fix it since it was burnt to a crisp then shattered!" Donnie snapped, letting himself get a little high-strung. As he spoke, he had his back to us, not bothering to turn around. I sensed that Donnie really didn't want to have this conversation, he doesn't like to be rushed, especially not by Mikey.

" Calm down bro," Mikey returned to his calm casual self, " I was just wondering."

Donnie just moaned in responded and walked into his lab, shutting the door behind him.

" Well, I'm gonna go make toast." Mikey stated and jumped up. He started to head towards the kitchen.

" But, the toaster is still broken Mikey." I reminded him. Had he already forgot the conversation he just had with Donnie two seconds ago.

Mikey stopped walking and spun around on his heels to face me.

" I know that." He said.

" Then...how are you going to make toast?" I asked, but I must admit that I was a little afraid to know the answer.

" With a blow torch." Mikey spoke as if it was obvious. Could Mikey not see the danger in that? Raph's right when he says Mikey's stupidity blinds him sometimes.

" Well that can't end well." John then stated the obvious as he spoke what everyone else was thinking.

Mikey ignored our warnings and continued to make his way to the kitchen. It was silent after that because we were all listening to Mikey banging around in the kitchen. It wasn't long after Mikey came out of the kitchen, looking sad.

" Yeah...um, we're out of bread." He sniffled.

" Bummer." Raph huffed sarcastically.

" Hey Taylor..." Mikey began as he said my name rather suspiciously, " Your looking kinda pale. You should go get some sunlight."

" Oh really?" I laughed, knowing that Mikey was just making excuses.

" Yeah, and while you're out and about, you can go get some bread." Mikey suggested and looked at me with round puppy eyes.

Knowing that I couldn't fight the pleading look in Mikey's baby blue eyes, I sighed and gave in.

" Fine. Lily, John. You wanna come?" I asked as I stood up from the couch.

" Sure." Lily agreed and grunted as she stood up.

" Yeah, okay." John agreed to then almost lost his balance as he stood up.

" Raph, you want anything?" I offered. Since I was going out, I might as well see if Raph wanted something.

" A normal little brother." He told me with all seriousness.

" Sorry," I laughed, " Can't do that." And with those last words, Lily, John, and myself all left the lair and wandered into the sewers.

We walked the sewer halls for a few minutes before coming to the man hole cover. I climbed the ladder first and listened for any passing cars or approaching footsteps. All seemed quiet so I tilted up the cover ever so slightly and seen that the coast was clear.

" We're good guys, you can come up." I shouted down to Lily and John as I hopped out of the sewers and onto the side of the road. We were right by Lily's house.

" Ugh, gross." John muttered as Lily pushed him up the ladder and onto the surface.

" We've been going down into the sewers for, like, two years now! And you say it's gross every time!" Lily shouted, but not at all angry.

" Your such a girl John." I teased and helped him get up off the pavement.

" I am not!" He pretested, " I _like_ girls, but I am not one." He insisted and brushed any dirt off of him.

" You sure?" Lily continued teasing him as she stood on her feet. We began walking as John went on about why he is not a girl, but simply concerned about germs.

" So, where should we go?" I changed the subject as we started to head towards the busier part of New York.

" Somewhere that sells bread." Lily concluded but laughed afterwards as she realized how silly she sounded. Most stores sells bread, so it didn't really matter what shop we went into.

We walked in silences for a little while. I was enjoying the peace for once. I liked being out of the lair for a change, feeling the warm sun blazing on my skin. It's been a while since Lily, John, and I just hung out as friends. For once, I didn't have to worry about Leo missing, or the Shredder, or even Midgar. I could just enjoy being with my friends.

" Taylor?" John's voice snapped me away from my thoughts.

" Yeah?" I asked, pretending that I was never off in dreamland.

" Want to stop in here for a second?" Lily pointed to the store we where standing in front off. It took me a moment to recognize the store. But then I recognized the brick walls, and the red and white striped sign, and the logo that all O's is the sign were a favourite pastry of mine. My friends and I were standing in front of the doughnut shop we use to go to everyday after work.

" I think I'm in the mood for a cream cheese delight." I smiled at the memories that we shared here at the doughnut shop only. Lily and John smiled back at me and we walked through the door.

As we walked in, a little bell above the door rang and the warm scent of freshly baked doughnuts filled my nose. The happy atmosphere of the lively little doughnut shop filled my eyes, everything from the round red table with colourful chairs to the fat baker behind the counter.

" Three cream cheese delights and three white milks please." I ordered our food as Lily and John went to pick out a table.

" Hey, I haven't seen you guys in a while." The pudgy french cashier noted as he smiled a friendly smile at me and handed me my doughnuts.

" Well, no place is as good as Danny's Doughnuts." I smiled and took the tray of doughnuts and milks. I walked over to the window seat that Lily and John picked out. I gave them each a plate with a doughnut on it and a milk. I set the tray aside and sat down to enjoy my doughnut.

It didn't take long for John to gobble down his doughnut. He's usually a fast eater when it comes to something delicious.

We laughed and talked like we use to, before I met the turtles. Before I fell in love with Donnie. Before my first fight with Shredder, before Donnie lost his memory, before our break up, before Midgar, before Leo left, before any of it. And now, looking back made me realize just how much had happen since.

" Wow." I breathed, sorta talking to myself.

" What?" Lily questioned as the both looked at me oddly.

" I've just realize how big an impacted the turtles have on our lives." I told them. And they nodded in agreement.

" Yeah, if you hadn't met the turtles, I would have never met Raph." Lily pointed out, " And John would have never gotten a crush on Karai."

" What!?" John blurted out, a little louder then necessary, " I mean, I-uh, don't know what your talking about."

We shared a moment of laughter before finishing up the rest of our milk and doughnuts. We threw out our trash and continued on our search for bread. We eventually did decide on a store, but we must of walked around for an hour before deciding what kind of bread to buy. It wasn't really that hard of a decision, we were all just having too much fun and wanted to kill some time.

" Okay, okay." Lily finally got her voice under control from her laughter, " Taylor if you had to choose to either kiss a cow, or live with a pickle on the end of your nose for the rest of your life. What would you choose?"

" Umm," I hesitated, " Depends, if I kissed the cow, would I be immune to pickle noses?"

" Uh, yes." Lily decided.

" And where would I have to kiss the cow?"

" Either on the butt, or on the lips." Lily nearly burst out laughing as she answered my question.

" Neither!" I shouted in utter discus as we continued to walk down the side walks of New York.

" Then it's pickle nose forever!" John declared.

" No wait!" I screamed, " I'd kiss the cow on the lips!"

" Ew, you know they chew their food, throw it up in their mouths, then eat it again?" Lily pointed out.

" Yeah, and you know where the food comes out of after it's digested four times?" I pointed out as well.

" Alright, you win." Lily squinted her face, truly grossed out.

" So, would you guys say your 'utterly' grossed out." John joked.

" How punny." I mused and shoved John, causing him to bump into Lily and then her to fall on the grass, " Woops." I laughed as John offered his hand to help Lily up.

" Hey, you wanna fight?" Lily joked around and threw his fists up in a defensive way.

" Okay." I went along with Lily's little game. Her eyes went wide with shock as she thought I was serious.

" No way! I ain't fighting a kunonich." Lily backed away and hide behind John.

" It's pronounced kunoichi." I corrected her, " And I'm not officially one. Not yet anyway."

" You'll get there one day." John assured me then jumped into the sewers as we arrived at our man hole cover.

" Here, catch!" Lily shouted down to John and threw him the loaf of bred. Then she jumped in the sewers after John.

I was about to follow him, but something grabbed my shoulder. Whoever was grabbing me, I took their wrist and flipped them over my shoulder and onto the ground. Without looking who it was, I placed my foot on top of their chest as I still clung to their arm.

" Taylor wait!" He shouted. I looked to see who I was holding down, and it was no other then Garret.

" Garret! What the heck!?" I shouted then paused. Had he seen Lily and John go into the sewer? How was I going to explain that to him? I sighed then continued, " What do you want?"

" I would like you to remove your foot from my chest." He grunted.

" Sorry." I apologized and helped Garret up, " Now what is it you want?"

" Taylor, I need to tell you something. The thing that I've been trying to tell you." He insisted.

" Spit it out." I said, getting kind annoyed, I didn't have time for this.

" Taylor," Garret began, " I-I know about the turtles."

* * *

**Dun, dun, dun! Hehe, okay so this update is kinda sorta not really that late. I usually update every three-four days and it's been what? Five maybe? I dunno. Anyway, hope you are enjoying this story so far and please review! I love to hear what you guys think! Thanks :D**


	15. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

" H-how?" I managed to spit out after I was left speechless for a few moments. Garret had just told me he knew about the turtles, but how? He couldn't right? It's impossible!

" It's a long story." Garret admitted and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

" Taylor! What's the hold up?" John shouted from inside the sewers. I looked down and seen him and Lily looking up at me.

" I-I'll be right there!" I shouted back at him then turned to Garret, " I-uh, I need to go."

" Wait! Take me with you, please." Garret pleaded and grabbed me by the arm, " I need to tell them something."

" Garret, I don't think-" I began but the pleading look in his eyes stopped me.

" If you don't, I'll just follow you anyway." Garret pointed out.

I sighed and agreed, " Fine."

" Thanks." Garret breathed a sigh of relief. I jumped in the sewers and climbed down the ladder, Garret followed after me.

" Taylor, what kept-" Lily began as I stepped down and splashed in the sewer water. She seen Garret follow right behind me, " Garret?" She asked in disbelief.

" Hi." He waved nervously at Lily and John. Garret was hiding behind his shaggy red hair that hung over his eyes.

" Hi..um, Taylor? Why is uh-" John questioned and eyed me suspiciously.

" Right um, Garret here." I began and gestured to Garret, how the heck am I suppose to explain this?

" I know about the turtles and I wanted to see them." Garret finished explaining for me.

Lily's and John's mouths dropped open in shock. They basically had the same reaction as me.

" H-how? What? Huh?" Lily stuttered, unable to form a question with words.

" Wait, you actually agreed to this?" John turned to me and asked his questioned.

" Well um yeah.." I admitted nervously, rubbing the back of my head as I spoke, " He was gonna follow us anyway."

" I guess you have a point..." John muttered more to himself then to me. He was still iffy about this whole 'bring Garret to the secret lair' idea, and I must admit, I was too.

" Should we get going?" I wondered, hoping desperately that we could get a move on. I wanted to get this whole Garret thing over with so he could go back home and pretend like nothing ever happened.

" Yeah, c'mon Lily." John agreed then took Lily by the wrist. She was still in shock of the news she had just received. So John had to drag her all the way back to the lair, with her taking slow stumbbly steps. I followed right behind them and Garret behind me. We took a few twist and turns to throw Garret off, so he couldn't find his way back to our lair even if he wanted to.

" We're here." I announced and peeked in the lair. Raph and Karai were sitting on the couch watching TV. Raph was feeding Roger a green pepper, who was sitting in his lap. I turned back to Garret, Lily and John, " I probably have to asked before I take you to the turtles. So..I'll be right back."

After I explained that to Garret, I walked into the lair and over to where Raph and Karai were sitting.

" Hey guys." I began with an iffy tone. Should I really be doing this?

" Taylor, your back." Raph noted then gave me a confused look, " Where's Lily and John?"

" They're um, waiting outside." I told him. I was about to continue but that's when Mikey's voice piped up.

" Is that Taylor I hear?!" He yelled and came running from his room. A comic book was dangling in his hand as he skidded to a halt in front of me. Mikey looked me up and down before asking, " Where's the bread?"

" Lily has it." I assured him, " She and John are waiting outside."

" Why aren't they coming in?" Mikey wondered.

" Right, um..." I hesitated, this was it, " They're waiting outside with someone. There's, uh someone who wants to meet you guys."

This got everyone's attention, even Karai's. She looked away from the TV, intrigued by the sudden conversation we were having.

" Garret, come on in!" I shouted to my friends who were waiting outside the lair. Since Mikey nor Raph had answer when I said someone wanted to meet them, I figured I might as well get this over with.

Lily, John, and Garret walked into the lair. They came over to where Mikey and I were standing. Garret stared at Mikey in amazement, shocked that he finally got to meat the ninja turtles.

" Taylor, who is this?" Raph got up from his seat and walked over to me. His voice was stern and his showed a hint of curiosity.

" This is Garret. Garret, this is Raph and Mikey." I introduced him to the turtles. But Garret didn't look convinced for some reason.

" Wait, I thought there were four of them." He said, confused. I exchanged a glance with Raph and Mikey, seeking their permission to tell Garret about Leo and Donnie.

" There is." I told him, " Donnie!" I shouted his name. Donnie was in his lab, and his lab was sound proof if the doors were closed, so I had to yell really loudly in order for him to hear me.

" Did someone call me?" Donnie questioned as he came out of his lab with a white cloth in his hand, wiping the grease from his three fingered hands.

" Yeah, I did." I told him, " Garret wanted to meet you."

" Whose Gar-" Donnie began then stopped when his gaze rested on the red haired guy standing in the lair, " Oh. That's Garret."

Garret waved at Donnie shyly then turned and faced the rest of the turtles.

" Where's the fourth?" He asked.

" He's, uh. Not home right now." I didn't completely lie, I just didn't want Garret to know about Leo leaving, in case, well lets just say you never know who you can trust.

" Oh." Garret looked down at the ground, confused.

" Taylor, why is Garret here?" Donnie asked. As he faced me, I couldn't help but notice a little smear of grease on his cheek. I fought back a sweet smile that was threatening to creep upon my face.

" Uh, he wanted to see you guys. He said he has something to tell you." I gave the short explanation of Garrets story.

" What is going on in here?" Splinter came out of the dojo. His voice was calm and relaxed as he spoke and came walking over to us. His eyes stretched when his eyes fell upon the red hair stranger in his home, " Who is this?" He wondered.

" Sensei." I tensed as Splinter's voice grew more stern, " This is, um, Garret." I explained for like the forth time today.

" And..." Splinter began but I already knew what he was going to asked.

" And he is here because apparently he has something really important to tell you guys."

Splinter cocked an eyebrow at my explanation, I could see curiosity spike in his brown eyes.

" And what is it you have to tell me?" Splinter leaned towards Garret, stroking his thin, long, white beard.

" Well, first I'd just like to say it's great to finally see you guys face to face." Garret began, not at all nervous of the presence of a giant rat, " And second." Garret's voice grew more stern and serious, " I know what Shredder is planing."

We all stared in shock at Garret. First he tells me he knows about the turtles, but he knows about the Shredder too? Next he's gonna say that he knows about the krang and the foot-ninjas.

" Hmm, why don't you sit down, and then we'll talk." Splinter offered and guided Garret to the couch. I exchanged a glance with everyone before we all went to sit on the couch with Splinter and Garret.

" So, what do you guys want to know?" Garret wondered, rocking back and forth in his seat.

" We want to know how the heck you know about us!" Raph yelled and nearly jumped up from where he was sitting.

" Calm yourself Raphael." Splinter warned his son then turn in attention back to Garret, " But yes, I believe that would be a good place to start."

" Well that's a really long story." Garret chuckled nervously, as if he didn't want to tell us.

" We got time." Donnie replied flatly.

" Okay then. Do any of you guys know about Tangshan?" Garret questioned. I could see Splinter tense up beside him.

" Yeah. We've heard of her." I answered for Splinter. Still not wanting to reveal to much information to Garret.

" Well, her best friend Akari is my mom's cousin, well adopted cousin. When I was little, maybe about five, I heard Akari talk to my mom about Tangshan. I heard the tail of Hamato Yoshi and Oruku Saki. They were once best friends-" Garret started to explain but Raph interrupted him.

" Yeah, we know. We've heard that story before."

" Oh, then a just a few months ago I heard a rumour that Hamato Yoshi got somehow...changed into a giant rat and was raising four giant turtles. I heard this of course when I was spying on the Shredder and-"

" Wait, you spy, on the Shredder?" Mikey asked in awe.

" Yeah, I do it all the time." Garret shrugged like it was no big deal, " Anyway, I needed to see these turtles for myself. I've notice that Taylor goes into the sewers a lot, and I've heard Shredder say that the sewers is where you guys live. So I've been searching for Taylor to see if she knew the turtles. And now fast-forward, here we are."

" Wow, that's quite a story." Mikey remarked.

" You've said you know something of Shredder's plans?" Splinter asked, wanting to know more about Garret, " What plans do you speak of?"

" Right, this was the important thing I had to tell you." When Garret spoke, we all leaned in so we could hear every detail. This had to be really important, " I know what Shredder is planing, when he's planing to attack you."

" What!? How do you know this!?" Raph practically shouted.

" Like I said, I spy on the Shredder." Garret told us again.

" Garret." Splinter began in a much more calmer tone then Raph used, " You seem to know a lot about the Shredder, but why tell us?"

" Well, uh" Garret stuttered, " The Shredder seems like a bad dude, and I know he's like your nemesis or something. So, I thought you guys should know."

" So, what are Shredder's plans?" Donnie asked.

" He wants to attack."

" No duh." Raph interrupted Garret.

" He wants to attack, and soon." Garret finished his explanation.

" How soon?" Splinter wondered.

" Like, within a few months. He plans to drive you out of your home and into central park. Where he'll have his army waiting for you guys. For a confrontation and something about a final battle." Garret answered. As he did, I could of swore we all felt the same thing. Fear pierced all of our hearts, " But he also said something about recruiting more ninjas and allies..or something like that."

" Thank you Garret. You've been most helpful to us." Splinter thanked Garret, " But if you don't mind, I need to have a word with my sons."

" Of course. I should get going anyway." Garret assured and stood up, " Um, bye I guess."

" Can you find you way out?" I asked, remembering that I had taken a lot of wrong turns to confuse him.

" Yeah I think so." Garret paused, like he needed to say something else, " You know, I-I could spy on the Shredder for you guys. Then like, report back here and stuff."

Garret's offer took us by surprise. We exchanged glances, was this really a good idea? I mean, I've meant Garret before but never really talked to him. I don't even know if we could trust him, but he seems like an honest guy. I mean it's Garret, how tough can he be?

" We do not wish to put you in danger." Splinter said a little sternly.

" It's no trouble really, I'm gonna do it anyway. So, uh, is that a yes?"

" It will do us a great deed of help, Garret. Thank you." Splinter nodded, confirming that Garret was going to be like a spy for us.

" Awesome. You guys are like, my heroes." Garret squealed. It was obvious that he was a big fan of the turtles.

" Yeah, okay it's time for you to go now." Raph stood up and began pushing Garret out of the lair. When Garret was gone, Raph came back and sat back on the couch. We all had a lot to talk about.

" Dudes, we have a fan!" Mikey nearly shouted and jumped out of his seat.

" That's bad Mikey." Donnie warned, " What if he goes blabbing about us to his friends or something?"

" What Garret? He won't do that. He's like, a even bigger comic book fan then me. He has no friends." John assured and Raph let out a snort of laughter.

" Wow." Mikey's eye's sparkled, " I like him all ready."

" My sons, this is serious." Splinter's sternest surprised us all, " This young man is putting himself in danger because of us."

" Your right sensei, we need to stop him." Raph agreed.

" I never said that. This Garret, obviously has good potential, and if Shredder is going to have a whole army, we need as many fighters as we can." Splinter explained but only got a bunch of confused faces.

" What do you mean sensei?" Mikey asked.

" I'm thinking about training Garret as a ninja."

" Wait. Train Garret, to be a ninja? Sensei, have you've gone insane? We can't start training every random person we meet!" Raph protested.

" I've trained Taylor didn't I?" Splinter challenged, " Garret obviously has good stealth skills, one of the first lessons I teach."

" Yeah but-" Raph continued to argue but shut his mouth at the look Splinter gave him. A look that said don't fight back.

" It's not official Raphael. But we do need as many ninja's as possible, 7 of us isn't enough to take on Shredder's entire army."

Raph and the rest of the room fell silent. When Splinter decided or wanted something, you don't argue with him. He is, a wise ninjutsu master after all.

" Speaking of training ninjas." Splinter continued, " Taylor, I would like to speak with you."

" Uh, okay." I said and got up. I followed Splinter to the dojo, where he sat down in front of the big bonsai tree. I knelt down in front of him and bowed my head. This is a sign of respect people do for their Sensei.

" The up coming battle that we are going to face with the Shredder," Splinter began, " Is the biggest battle we will ever face. Shredder is not going to stop until we are dead, and I have a feeling that this battle will be to the death."

I didn't say anything in response. Sure it was a bit harsh, but we couldn't run from the truth forever. It's most likely that someone's life is going to be taken in this up coming battle. I just hope we'll be ready for it.

" I've thought long and hard about this, and I request your permission, but I would like to train you friends Lily and John to be ninja's." Splinter concluded.

" What?!" I completely flipped out and stood up from where I was kneeling, " I've been training to be a ninja for two years and I don't even have a weapon yet. But you want my friends to go into battle, which could kill them, in just a few months!?" I wouldn't normally, or ever, yell at sensei. But what he just suggested was completely berserk. Maybe sensei has lost his mind.

" It would be very intense training. They will learn quickly." Splinter's voice was unnaturally soft at a moment like this. He was being very calm and professional, sadly, I couldn't say the same about me.

" But this is crazy!" I managed to calm myself down a little, but I began pacing back and forth, " Surely there's another solution. Why don't we just move to a different part of New York?"

" That will not make our Shredder problem go away. He followed me from Japan, and he will surely do it again." Splinter spoke more sternly now, " I do not like this idea either, but we do not have a choice. I do not like sending my sons out into a battle that will possibly cost them their life, but that is the only solution."

" But-" I began then stopped. I didn't know what to say. Splinter was right, we do need more people to fight be our sides when the battle comes, " But Sensei, if we need as many people as possible, why did you send Leo away?" I pointed out. It hadn't really sunk in yet that Leo wasn't here. Sure we noticed, but for some reason it just doesn't feel right. I keep thinking that he'll be home in the morning, only to find out that he isn't.

" That decision was made before we knew about Shredder's plans." Splinter countered.

" Yeah, but surely you knew that a battle will be coming soon. I mean, all the way to Japan? I don't think Leo will be back in time."

" We need Leonardo to preform at his best, but he will not if his mind is clouded by the impossible." Splinter told me his wise words of wisdom, but that only got me more curious.

" Sensei..." I hesitated, wondering if I should asked Splinter this, " Why did you send Leo away in the first place?"

Splinter stared at me for a moment before bowing his head and letting out a sigh.

" My son, Leonardo was not well in the mind. His thoughts were clouded with those of my daughter Karai. His mind was not focused, his spirit was not well. He was not able to be a true ninja with these distracting thoughts, so I sent him to a good friend of mine in Japan. It will help him focus and turn back into the Leonardo we know." Splinter explained.

" Okay." I said and Splinter looked up at me, " You can train Lily and John." I agreed. I've realized that we did need as many people as we could manage. It wasn't fair that I wanted to keep my friends safe, when Splinter was sacrificing everything he loves, for a second time.

" Thank you Taylor. Would you like to bring them the news?" Splinter offered and I agreed.

In the next few minutes, I walked out of the dojo and got Lily and John. I brought them back in the training room where Splinter was still knelt down. All of us got on our knees and bowed to sensei.

" Lily, John." Splinter began, " Taylor and I have come to a decision. I would like to train you to as ninjas."

I heard Lily let out a little gasp beside me and John hung his mouth in shock.

" Yeah!" Lily shot her fist in the air as she shouted. She obviously didn't realize what she was getting into.

" You realize this is the hardest thing you'll do. Your life might be on the line." Splinter warned.

" But I still want to." Lily sounded to excited to turn this offer down. John on the other hand remained silent.

" John, what about you?" I turned to him, getting a feeling that he might not want to.

" You kidding? Yes I want to! I'll be just like Spider Man!" John shouted and joined in on Lily's excitement. Even Splinter let out a little chuckle.

I looked at Lily and John, they were both chatting excitedly and John was going on about his chance to be Spider Man. But they had no idea what danger lies ahead of them. They're life could be taken from them, but they failed to realize it. I know that I agreed to this, but I still couldn't fight the fear and concern inside of me. But Lily and John obviously took the the news better then I did.

* * *

**So this is the second time I had to edit this chapter cause my freaking internet stopped working for like a second and this didn't save. So yeah, if there's any mistakes I'm sorry. Please stick with me and please review to tell me what you think. Thanks! :)**


	16. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

" What is it Sensei?" Mikey was the first to speak. After Lily and John received the news that their going to train to be ninjas, Splinter sent me to go get Raph, Mikey, Donnie and Karai for a meeting in the dojo. We were all knelt down in front of Splinter and he was in front of his giant bonsai tree like he usually is.

" I have two very important announcements." Splinter started and I was puzzled. I knew one of the announcements, but what was the other?

" Is something wrong?" Donnie asked before Splinter could continue.

" No, nothing is wrong. They're both good news." Splinter explained then continued on, " After some consideration, I've decided to train Lily and John as ninjas."

Before anyone could react, Raph bet us to it.

" What?!" He stood up and shouted, having almost the same reaction as I did.

" Raph, it's alright." Lily tried to explain and calm him down by extending her arm. Lily seemed to have this special gift, whenever she touches Raph, it calms him down. But for once Raph jerked his arm away from Lily.

" No, it's not alright! Does this mean she'll fight along side us with Shredder?" Raph turned his angry face towards his Sensei and Father.

" Yes." Splinter nodded, staying calm during Raph's little out burst.

" You're kidding right?!" Raph couldn't believe what he was hearing, " I don't want Lily putting herself in danger!"

" What, you don't think I can take care of myself?" Lily spoke with amusement, but I could detect the slightest hint of offence in her tone.

" No it's not that...it's just..." Raph was unable to finish his sentence so he just let out a frustrated grunt.

" Raph, I can do this." Lily assured but I could tell Raph was still not convinced.

" I know you can, but it doesn't mean you should! Taylor," Raph turned to me, " Did you agree to this?"

" Well, umm..." I hesitated, when Raph gets really mad, he's really scary.

" Hey! you leave her out of this." Donnie stood up for me. Which, I was thankful for.

" What? You weren't to thrilled when your girlfriend started training as a kunoichi either!" Raph countered.

" What?" I turned to Donnie as his face went bright red. This was new information that I was never aware of.

" Enough!" Splinter shouted, clearly annoyed by all the arguing, " Raphael, it is already decided. Lily will train as a ninja!"

Getting ready to overflow, Raph let out an angry shout before storming out of the dojo and slamming the doors behind him.

" Well that went well." Karai noted sarcastically.

" No kidding." Mikey added on, staring at the dojo doors that Raph had just recently slammed.

" Congratulations though," Karai turned to John who was knelt down beside her, " Maybe you'll finally be able to catch up to me." This was classic Karai. She couldn't compliment someone without adding some sort of remark to it.

" Thanks" John sat up proudly then slouched back down as he added, "...I think. And I could take you on any day." He decided to play along with Karai.

" Oh really?" Karai gave a little laugh of disbelief before jumping at John. They now began to play-wrestle on the floor. We all watched them amusingly, before Lily spoke.

" I'm gonna go talk to Raph." She announced.

" Good luck." Splinter huffed. Even though he was a master of ninjutsu and a father of 5, he still can be humorous at some points.

" Sensei, didn't you say there was another announcement?" Mikey questioned, his big blue eyes full of curiosity and wonder.

" Yes." Splinter nodded and turned to me, " Taylor, I have decided on a weapon for you."

My eyes went wide with shock. Finally, I was going to get a weapon. I wondered what it was going to be. A sword? Throwing knives? Some sort of Japaneses weapon that I never heard of before?

" Sweet! What is it?" I couldn't help but asking. The inner child in me was getting over excited.

" A Hanbo." Splinter declared and walked over to the giant wooden cabinet against the wall of the dojo. He opened up the doors and took out what looked like a stick with chains at both ends. He walked back over to us and continued to explain, " A Hanbo is a BO-staff, three feet in length, with foot long chains at each end. Since you best preformed with the BO-staff and the nun-chucks, this was the best choice for you."

" Oh cool. Thanks Sensei!" I said with sparkling eyes.

" Don't thank me, you've earned it." Splinter handed me my weapon. I took it and began to examine it closely.

The wood was soft and the weapon was surprisingly light. There was silver coloured chains at each end of the Hanbo and at the end of the chains were what looked like a spiky metal ball. I ran my fingers along the wood and found a hidden button, much like the one on Donnie's staff or Mikey's nun-chucks.

" What does the button do?" I looked up from my weapon as I asked Splinter my question.

" I suggest you stand up before pressing it." Splinter advised, without really answer my question.

I did as Splinter suggested and stood up. I held the Hanbo upright and pressed the button near the top. The chains at the ends of the staff folded into it in a swift motion. Now at both ends of the staff was just two spiky metal balls. The Hanbo concealed what seemed to be a very pointy cane.

" Cool." I whispered in astonishment.

" C'mon, try it out!" John suggested. He was pinned on the floor by Karai who was sitting on top of him.

" Uh..." I hesitated. I don't the slightest idea on how to use a Hanbo.

" Hold on, we need to get you properly wrapped up first. We don't want your hands to get blisters." Donnie warned.

" Oh come on, I'm sure she can do a few swings without getting blisters." Mikey remarked. He was nearly bouncing up and down with excitement. He was just as excited about my weapon as I was.

" No, Donatello is right." Splinter spoke, " She must learn to use the weapon properly with the proper equipment. That is why along with my training, Taylor will be trained by Michelangelo and Donatello. She needs the skills of both the BO-staff and Nun-chucks."

" Plus, I think we've had enough excitement for one day." I huffed a sigh of relief. Today was a hectic day. We found out that Garret new about the turtles, is able to spy on Shredder and will possibly train as a ninja. Plus, Lily and John will train as ninjas as well and I got my weapon today. For me, that's way more excitement then I need.

I bowed to Splinter as I handed him my weapon back. Unlike the turtles who almost always carry their weapon with them, I don't have a belt or strap to hold my weapon. So for now, it will stay in the cabinet in the dojo.

" That will be all for today." Splinter announced.

We all walked out of the dojo, leaving Splinter to meditate. As we emerged into the living room, we found Raph and Lily snuggling on the couch feeding Roger. Nobody said a word to them as we all went to go to separate things. Mikey sat on the couch and began reading a comic book, Karai and John sat at the other end of the couch talking among themselves and I followed Donnie to his lab. If Leo was here, he probably be watching a rerun of space heroes or an episode of Super Robo Mecha Force Five.

" Hey Donnie." I called after him as we entered his lab, " You have something on your face." I took my hand and wiped the grease smear off of his face. He had it on there ever since Garret was here, and nobody ever told him.

" Thanks." Donnie smiled then walked over to his desk. He sat down and began sketching. I came up behind him and wrapped my arms around him. I rested my head on him.

" What were you working on anyway?" I asked.

" I was rebuilding the stealth bike." Donnie answered as he continued to sketch, " Now I'm just changing a few things about the design."

" Cool. But, what's the stealth bike?"

" It's like a motor cycle but if you press a certain button, a lid folds over it for protection." Donnie explained.

" Wow, impressive." I stated. Donnie was such a clever inventor, I had no clue how he comes up with all kinds of stuff.

" Thanks, but I'm just trying to remember what type of engine I used." Donnie informed me.

I didn't reply right away. Donnie said he was trying to remember. Both him and I hated those words. For months, Donnie forgot who I was. He was trying to remember me but couldn't. He lost his memory, cause of the torture session by Shredder. He almost died then, but because he didn't Donnie was getting haunted by Midgar. And Midgar is still haunting him and me to this day. That's where it all began, that's where our Midgar problem started. Somehow, it all led back to Shredder. So when Donnie spoke the words that he's trying to remember, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear rising inside of me.

" N-not that I can't remember." Donnie corrected himself, he must of notice my silence, " I-I mean I can. It's just, that I-I don't know what kind of engine I used last time."

I gave Donnie a side smile as he tried to correct his mistake. I kissed him lightly on the head, appreciating what he was trying to do.

" Yeah...I know." Donnie sighed. He must of been thinking the same thing I did, " Sorry."

" It's okay. You don't need to apologize." I assured him, " It's just...how are we going to defeat Midgar?"

" I wish I knew." Donnie huffed and spun around. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me onto his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head against his chest, " We'll figure out a way." He tried to reassure me. I wanted to believe him, but I didn't know how I could.

" Have you've had anymore recent visits?" I wondered.

" Actually Midgar visited me last night." Donnie confessed, " He kept taunting me."

" About what?" I asked. I had to remind myself that when Midgar speaks to Donnie, she uses a boy's voice. But with me, she uses my voice, well my voice is an evil sounding way.

" Just..stuff..." Donnie muttered.

I sat up and looked at him. I tried to make eye contact but refused. Whatever Midgar was taunting Donnie about, he obviously didn't want to talk about it.

" Donnie." I forced my voice to stay calm as I talked, " You know you can tell me, right?"

" Midgar, he was taunting me about, my..uh..memory loss." Donnie told me, still not making eye contact.

I understood now why Donnie didn't want to talk about it. He hates that he once forgot what happened, who I was. So we always try our best not talking about it. We don't want to constantly remind Donnie of his memory loss. And since we don't talk about it, I guess Midgar was making up for it.

" He was saying how with just a flick of his hand, he could make me forget again." Donnie's voice quavered. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to fight back the fear.

" You know I would never let that happen." I assured him, " I promised that I would never let anything hurt you ever again, remember?"

" Yeah." Donnie almost laughed as he spoke, " That's one thing I'll never forget."

" Did Midgar say anything else?" I didn't want to push Donnie to far, but we needed to find out as much as we possibly can.

" Just stupid things like how I'm going crazy, talking to a voice inside my head. But last time I check, my cortex wasn't damage, plus..." Donnie began but his words faded away. He stopped during the middle of his sentence, usually when Donnie does this, he got an idea.

" Was is it Donnie?" I asked, getting up. Donnie was getting jittery in his seat and I could tell that he was going to go into a deep thinking mode, and begin to pace back and forth.

" If Midgar...head...cortex..." Donnie began mumbling to himself and, as I predicted, began to pace back and forth.

" Donnie, what are you talking about?" I wondered. What was he saying about the cortex. The cortex is a part of your brain that controls your decision making, emotions, senses and common sense. But what good is that information when it comes to Midgar.

" If Midgar communicates with us through our thoughts...then..." Donnie yet again didn't finish his sentence. But this time he stopped pacing and stretched his eyes wide. By the look in his reddish brown eyes, I could tell Donnie got an idea, " Taylor..." Donnie sounded breathless yet relieved at the same time, "Taylor I think I've figured it out."

" Figured what out?" I cried desperately. Donnie was confusing me, I didn't know what the heck he was talking about.

" Taylor," Donnie spoke, the relief in his eyes and voice was almost scary, "I know how to defeat Midgar."

* * *

**Hi guys! Okay so I've been getting a lot of reviews asking about Leo and if he's out of the story for good or what. I can assure you that he's not, he will come back, but that's all I can say...for now. Hope you're enjoying the story and please review! ^J^**


	17. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I stood there speechless. A quick jab of pain pricked at my heart, in fear that Donnie was only joking. He wouldn't do that right? He knows how much pain Midgar causes, to not only me but him. He had to be telling the truth, he wouldn't lie to me, no, not about this. Then, why did fear and doubt bubble inside me?

" Your kidding, right?" I asked cautiously, scared that maybe for some reason Donnie was lying.

" No." Donnie laughed happily, like he couldn't believe himself, " I-I think I figured it out."

The fear intently melted away at Donnie's comforting voice and words.

" Then how...how do we get rid of Midgar?" I urged him on. I couldn't believe that after so long, after suffering through the wrath of Midgar, it was finally going to end.

" See, Midgar claims to be in our minds." Donnie began to pace as he explained, " And since we can hear him and, well for me, see him, he must cause us hallucination. Or in other words, lose our sanity."

" So you're saying we're crazy?" I wondered doubtfully. I was confused to where Donnie was going with this.

" No. To lose our sanity also means we lose our common sense. The part of our brain that controls our common sense is called the cortex. So if in fact Midgar is in our minds, he would live in our cortex."

" Donnie, wait. How does this solve our problem?" I asked.

" If we damage our cortex," Donnie continue, " We get rid of Midgar."

I was about to interrupt Donnie to ask how that was possible and how we could damage our cortex. But he must of seen my question coming because he kept talking before I could interrupt.

" A concussion. See, when you head comes in contact with an object with great force, you get a concussion. 90% of concussions damages the cortex. The damage usually doesn't take much effect, it almost never damages permanently. Some people experience dizziness or sickness but nothing usually bigger then that. I suppose it all has to do with the amount of gravitational pull, plus the force and speed you fall at..."

" Donnie?" I called to him. Donnie tends to rant on about things or lose track. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that big brain of his.

" Sorry." He shook his head before continuing, " Anyway, Midgar is mostly likely to be in our cortex. So if we get a concussion, it would chase him out. Midgar wouldn't be able to exist in our minds if the cortex gets damaged..."

" So it's only logical for us to get a concussion," I finished Donnie's sentence, " Thus chasing him out."

" Exactly." Donnie agreed with pride glowing in his eyes.

" So when do want to...uh...give ourselves concussions...I guess." I chuckled a little bit as I talked. Hearing how ridiculous it sounded was laughable. I never thought that I would be purposely giving myself a concussion.

" I don't know about you, but I want to get rid of Midgar as soon as possible." Donnie said somewhat sarcastically, but in a joking matter.

" Then there's no time to lose I guess." I smiled at the thought of finally getting rid of Midgar.

" Yeah," Donnie laughed, " But we should probably do it outside the lair. So no one sees anything."

" Yeah it be weird if someone walked in on us, smacking our heads against the wall." I joked. Even though I was smiling on the outside, I'm terrified on the inside.

" We should also probably do it at night. So we don't need to answer any question when we get back." Donnie suggested and I agreed with it. I don't want to answer any awkward question when we return to the lair.

" So it's set then." I nodded, " Our Midgar problems will end, tonight."

* * *

" Donnie. A-are you sure this will work?" I whispered as he and I tiptoed through the sewer. We left the lair about ten minutes ago. We waited until nigh fell and everyone went to bed, and then ten minutes after that. And now, we've been walking for another ten minutes. We wanted to make sure we were well away from the lair.

" I hope so." Donnie whispered back. He looked at me with fear etched hard in his eyes. Was he scared too? " Okay, I think this is far enough." He announced.

We came to a stop. We were in the middle of no-where. Lost in the sewers, so no one could find us and see what we are about to do. It was almost pitch black, I could just barely see Donnie's face in the moonlight.

" So, how are we gonna do this?" I wondered. I only ever got a concussion once in my life. And that was over two years ago when I first met the turtles. And I was never so glad to get hurt, cause if I didn't get that concussion, it's possible that I would have never met the turtles. Or have fallen in love with Donnie.

" Umm...My guess is to just run into the wall as hard as we can." Donnie shrugged casually. But something was off, he was hiding something, " That, or I could hit you with my BO-staff and then knock myself out too."

" I...uh...I think I'm gonna go with the wall." I told him.

" Good." Donnie breathed a sigh of relief, " I don't think I would be able to knock you out."

I smiled weakly at Donnie. Something was different about him. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was hiding something. Donnie seemed extra jumpy or jittery or..something. He just, wasn't himself. Something was bothering him, causing him great discomfort.

" Donnie." My voice was hushed when I spoke, almost whisper like, " Is...is something wrong?"

" Wha-? Uh, no." Donnie shook his head as he answered me. But he answered a little too quickly for my comfort and wouldn't make eye contact with me. I could tell easily that he was lying.

" C'mon Donnie." I approached him and put my hand on his chest. I felt his heart bet rapidly in his chest, " No more secrets remember? You can tell me."

" Well...it's just...uh.." Donnie let out a frustrated sigh, " I'm scared." He admitted, " I'm scared to give myself a concussion."

We stood there is silence for a moment. Our eyes were locked together. I was searching deep within his reddish-brown eyes. Sure Donnie admitted that he was scared, but naturally everyone would be. What Donnie wasn't telling me was why. Why was he scared? There's your basic reasons, nobody wants to give themselves a concussion. But I could tell there was something more. A deeper reason.

Donnie got my hint that I wanted more details. So he closed his eyes and sighed before continuing.

" I-I'm scared that if I get a concussion, that...that I'll forget you again." Donnie spoke like he was on the verge of crying, I could see tears forming in his eyes, making them sparkle beneath the moonlight that peeked through the sewers, " I-I'm scared that when I get the concussion, that it'll trigger something in my brain and I'll forget. That I'll lose my memory, and maybe this time, I won't be able to get it back." Donnie's voice cracked as he spoke.

Now I get it. Donnie has much deeper reasons behind his fears. Donnie was scarred for life, both emotionally and physically. He doesn't know that I know, but I can see that even now he still lives in fear. Every time we go on patrol, I can tell he's nervous. He never acts scared, his brothers might even forget that he was ever scared, but I won't. I can just tell. I can see past his mask, I can see in his eyes and detect the fear hidden deep within them.

" Donnie. Would you ever break a promise to me?" I asked him as I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. I felt Donnie's arms wrap around me and his head rest on mine.

" No." He answered. I could feel him shake. _Was he crying?_ I wondered but didn't dare say it out loud.

" And remember how you promised me that I'm truly unforgettable? That you'll never forget me again?"

" Yes." His voice quavered and I felt a wet drop fall on my head. Donnie's tears were soaking into my hair. I didn't mind. Donnie's been holding back this entire time. I was the once crying while he comforted me. But now, it's the other way around.

" Are you going to break that promise?" I kept asking these questions, but already knowing the answer. I just thought that Donnie should hear himself say it out loud.

" Never." He said with determination and I felt his grip tighten around me.

" Then you won't forget me." I assured him, " You'll never forget anything ever again."

Donnie just answered my words of comfort with a whimper. He hugged me even tighter and pressed his face on my head. I felt Donnie's shaky breaths breath on my head. He was savouring this moment, and I realized that I should too. In an instant, Donnie's fears became mine. What if Donnie's concussion did give him memory loss? What if Donnie forgot me again, and this time wouldn't be able to remember who I am? No...I had to shake that thought away. How was I suppose to give Donnie faith, it I didn't have any?

" Just in case...I love you." Donnie whispered and kissed the top of my head. I stopped hugging him and put my hands on Donnie's head. I lift it off mine, and I looked up at him.

I stared straight into his teary eyes. _Just in case._ I repeated Donnie's words in my head. He was right, just in case he would forget again, I had to treasure each moment. So I stood on my tiptoes and kissed Donnie on the lips.

Donnie instantly reacted and kissed me back. He held my waist and pulled me in closer. I felt my breaths start to speed up. I was getting overwhelmed. I couldn't push the thought of in case Donnie did lose his memory again, this would be our last kiss. I was kissing him in fear that it might be our last.

" Donnie. We...we can't do this." I told him after we stopped kissing, " It's to dangerous, it's to risky."

" But Taylor, what about Midgar?" He countered, " How else are we suppose to get rid of him?"

I didn't know how to respond. I didn't know the answer. Was giving ourselves concussions the only way out? Surely there's another way?

" M-maybe we could just learn to cope with Midgar in our lives?" I suggested. But the look in Donnie's eyes told me that my idea was a no-go.

" No." Donnie shut his eyes tightly as a stream of tears began to fall, " I hear you scream every night, cause of that stupid dream Midgar sends you."

" I-I kinda got use to it." I lied. I could never 'get over' that dream. How could I? I watch my family die every night in front of me, and I stand just stand there, not being able to do anything about it. Then their screams, their screams echo in my ears. I can't stand hearing Donnie desperately calling out my name. How am I suppose to get use to that? And I can guess that Donnie seen right through my lie.

" No you haven't. And even if you did, I didn't. I can't stand hearing you scream every night. So we'll do this, I won't let some stupid fear stand in our way." Donnie said with determination, but I could detect a hint of fear.

" Okay." I shrugged unhappily. I didn't want to do this, but what other choice do we have?

" So, just run into the wall, as hard as you can. Make sure you hit your head hard enough." Donnie explained and we got into running position. We were going to go in opposite directions. I was running into the right wall of the sewer while Donnie into the left.

" Ready?" I asked and turned my head to face Donnie. He was about to answer but we both froze as the air became deathly cold and an all to familiar voice started to speak.

_**And what do you think you're doing? **_Midgar spoke with my voice, my evil voice.

" Whoa, creepy." I heard Donnie whisper under his breath. He wasn't use to hearing Midgar as a girl. And especially not as an evil me.

" We're gonna get rid of you once and for all Midgar." I answered her question. Trying to stay confident, when in reality I barely had any left.

" Yeah. You tormented us for far to long." Donnie noted.

_**Why, you don't like me?**_

" Taylor," Donnie spoke, ignoring Midgar's question, " We need to do this now. Before Midgar can do anything else to us."

I nodded in agreement.

_**I wouldn't do this if I were you.**_ Midgar said in an almost taunting way. But Donnie and I ignored her. This was it, we were going to get rid of Midgar. Nothing could stop us now.

" On three." Donnie said and began counting, " One."

_**Wait...stop! **_Midgar screamed. But once again we pretended like we heard nothing. I felt the cool air around me start to shift, Midgar was on the move.

" Two." I continued then he finished.

" Three." And at that I ran towards the wall with all my force.

_**NO! **_Midgar shouted. But that was the last thing I heard before I rammed myself into the wall. I hit the wall and then instantly fell to the ground. A loud ringing echoed in my ears. My head was throbbing with pain and my world was fading in and out of blackness.

I tried to sit up but instantly regretted it. I fell back on the floor with a thud. Dizziness took over my world and I felt as if I was going to be sick. I tried to look up, to see if I could see Donnie. But I loss consciousness before I could see him.

* * *

" Wha..." The words would not form in my mouth or my brain. I just woke up from blacking out. _What happened?_ I thought to myself.

" Taylor, your awake." I heard Donnie's voice speak to me. And that's when I remembered. I had ran into the sewer wall to give myself a concussion to get rid of Midgar.

" Donnie!" I called out to him and sat up. I must have gotten up to fast because in a rush of dizziness, I fell on the floor...again. Donnie crawled over to me and helped me sit up, " Thanks."

" You okay?" He asked.

" Besides my head throbbing, and the feeling like I'll throw up, I'm fine." I nearly laughed at my answer. I never thought I'd be saying that, " What about you?"

" Same." Donnie chuckled, " We should get back to the lair."

" Yeah." I agreed, " But wait, how do we know we have concussions?"

" Believe me, we do." Donnie assured and we helped each other stand up. Donnie seemed to have an easier time then me. Maybe I got a worst concussion then him.

" So, is Midgar gone?" I wondered as we began to wobble back to the lair.

" I guess we'll find out soon enough. But, not tonight. It's probably best that we don't go to sleep." Donnie answered and smiled. I smiled back at him and remembered last time I got a concussion. Him and I had stayed up nearly all night, that was until Shredder came in and drove the turtles out of their home. But that was over two years ago.

" Sleep, that's all I want to do right now." I admitted.

" You and me both." Donnie sighed.

We walked all the way back to the lair in silence. Our thoughts were loud enough for the both of us. So many questions were buzzing in my head. Did it work? Will Midgar leave us alone now? How long were we out for? What if this doesn't work? Is Midgar truly gone? How can we tell? How long before I can go to sleep again? These were all good questions, but none of them had answers.

When we got back to the lair, we found out that it was 3:30 in the morning. And thankfully nobody was awake yet. Since Donnie and I couldn't go to bed, we decided to just stay on the couch. We couldn't even watch TV either, cause we didn't want to make any noise.

So him and I decided to have some snuggle time. It's been a little while since Donnie and I could just sit back, relax and enjoy each other's company. We were all so busy worrying about Leo, what's gonna happen with Shredder, and Midgar of course. So this was a nice moment. And I was able to breath a sigh of relief, knowing that Donnie didn't lose his memory again.

" This is nice." I thought out loud and looked up at Donnie. I was resting my head on his chest and he had his arms wrapped around me.

" Yeah, it's perfect." Donnie smiled, showing me his missing tooth.

" I love you." I smiled back at him and closed my eyes. I breathed in Donnie's warm comforting sent. I was enjoying this moment until Donnie prodded me awake.

" Hey, don't go to sleep, remember?" Donnie reminded me. I felt him flinch a little as he used the word remember.

" Yeah." I responded flatly. There was nothing more that I wanted then to just sleep in Donnie's embrace, in his arms. But that, unfortunately had to wait.

" Hey," Donnie called to me again, " I love you too."

My disappointment instantly faded at the sound of Donnie's voice. At the sound of his words. That's all I wanted. That's all I need. Donnie is the only thing I need for happiness. He's my missing piece. And just being in his arms in good enough for me.

" Hey Donnie." I chimed.

" What?" He asked suspiciously, but in a joking way. I could see amusement glowing deep within his eyes.

" This is where it all began." I told him. This was where Donnie and I first met, where him and I began. This was the place where it all started. This was where I realized that my life was nothing without Donnie. This was mine and Donnie's beginning, " Okay technically it was in the old lair, and-" I continued but Donnie silenced me.

" Thanks." He smiled warmly at me. I could almost see the emotions he was feeling.

" For what?" I wondered happily. I learned to treasure every word that Donnie spoke, cause you never know when it will all end.

" Just...for being you. For loving me." Donnie praised and kissed the top of my head.

" I can't see how I can't love you." I said with a joking tune in my voice.

" No, Taylor I'm serious." Donnie sounded chocked up when he spoke and he pulled me into a tight hug, " Thank you for filling my world with happiness. Thank you, for after breaking me, for fixing me."

I was a little surprised at Donnie's words. I didn't expect him to tell me this right here and now. But I was thankful he did. That was something that I had to know, that I had to hear. I needed to know that after I broke Donnie, I was able to fix him. I know that secretly I'll never be able to forgive myself for what I did to Donnie. No matter if he forgave me, no matter if I did what I did because I wanted to protect him, in the end, I ended up hurting him. And deep down I know, for me, that's unforgivable.

" You're welcome." I whispered to him and let a few tears stream down my face.

" Promise me, you'll never leave me again" Donnie whispered back to me and pulled me tighter to him. Over the past year, Donnie's been through so much. His emotions had been played with in a way no one should ever experience. He's changed, in a way that can never be undone.

" Yes," I said to him as I let him hold me, " I'll never leave you again." I knew right then that I was promising Donnie eternity. I was promising him forever.

* * *

**I know that it's only been two days but since it's my birthday, I decided to update! It's kinda funny too since I'm turning 15 and this is the 15th chapter. Haha!...yeah...I try. Anyway, please leave a review and enjoy!**

**(And yes, I will be giving more info on Leo later on.)**


	18. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Two weeks had gone by. And there was no Midgar for two whole weeks. Three weeks since Leo left, and I must say that right now this family was really starting to realize it. It was hitting this family, hard. I mean our leader, our fearless leader left us. Or in Raph's words, 'abandoned us.' I don't buy it. Leo would never abandoned us, not without a good reason. Could love really drive him that insane? Then again on the other hand, I know what it's like to not being able to feel the love of the one you love. I know what it's like to feel alone. But, it just doesn't seem like Leo.

" Ugh, I'm so bored!" Karai complained and threw her arms in the air while leaning her head back on the couch.

" Wanna read a comic?" Mikey offered and waved one of his comic's in his sister's face. Karai, looking annoyed, took the comic from Mikey's hands and threw it across the room, "Spider Man!" Mikey squealed and launched himself to the other side of the living room, attempting to save his precious comic.

" Oh relax." Raph huffed to Karai, " We're gonna go on patrol soon anyway." This would be one of the few patrols we've gone on without Leo. Everyone realized this, but no one dared say it out loud.

" What time is it anyway?" Karai wondered, lifting her head up and trying to see the clock in the kitchen.

" I dunno." Raph shrugged, " Yo Donnie!"

" Yeah?" Donnie answered and walked out of his lab. He was working on the stealth bike and was just coming out of his lab to wash up. He emerged from his scientific laboratory and started heading towards the bathroom with a somewhat white, greased stained towel hanging over his shoulder. Even though the towel was greased stained, Donnie still managed to get grease all over himself. I know this wasn't an appropriate time to think this, but let's just say that my heart started beating rapidly when I seen Donnie.

" What time is it?" Raph asked and that snapped me out of little Donnie fantasy.

Donnie was nearly out of the living and down the hallway before he answered, " Not sure, ask Leo."

We all froze at Donnie's words, including Donnie himself. I could tell that Donnie instantly regretted what he had just said. Leo's been gone for three weeks, and probably already half way to Japan. We never really realize just how much we've missed Leo, until he's gone.

" Uh...geez...sorry guys. I-I forgot." Donnie, once again, chose the wrong words to say.

We all looked at him in concern. Everyone shared the same fear as of right now. Every time someone mentions the word forget, especially when Donnie accidentally says it, we all freeze. We all get this twinge of fear that Donnie may be slowly loosing his memory again. We all know it's not very likely, but then again, why do people fear anything at all?

" Hey guys! What's going-" Lily's voice suddenly called from the sewer tunnels. She, John and Garret emerged from the hall and into the lair. They were walking towards us, but stopped in their tracks when they saw all of us, sitting on the couch, in silence. Lily could instantly tell that something was wrong.

" I'm just gonna...yeah." Donnie didn't bother finishing his sentence and just made his way into the bathroom. It was so quiet, that the silence was becoming loud. No one spoke, we heard the little click of the bathroom door locking.

" Hey, what happened?" John's voice was soft. Merely a whisper. He, Lily and Garret made their way over to us and sat on the couch.

" Nothing." I shook my head while I answered. It seemed at my words, everyone broke out of their little trance that they were in, " We were just discussing patrol."

" Oh, good." Lily smiled, " Garret has something to report."

All of our attention turned to the Garret. Who was sitting on the couch beside Lily.

" Right um... I was spying on Shredder the other day. And, he's having a 'meeting'." Garret explained.

" What do you mean, meeting?" Raph questioned. Garret had now all got us intrigued

" He's meeting his new recruits tonight." Garret told us, " He wants to get a move on with this attack of his."

" And how exactly do you know this?" Raph got up and walked over to Garret. He put on hand on the head on the couch, so his arm was blocking Garret's escape. Raph was never one to trust what other's say. I right now, I don't blame him. We, well they, barely just met Garret about two weeks ago.

" L-Like I said, I-I was spying on the Shredder and-" Garret stuttered. Raph was being very intimidating at the moment, then again, when is he not?

" Dude." Mikey interrupted Raph's little confrontation, " Don't question it. Garret obviously read Spider man before and developed some of his skills."

Raph's only response was a deranged look at his little brother.

" Actually Spider Man is my favourite super hero. Well him and The Green Lantern." Garret added in. But his facial expression was nervous and extremely scared.

" What!?" Mikey flipped out and pushed Raph aside. He then took the same position over Garret as Raph did, but much less threatening, " You serious?"

" Uh, does Spider man spin webs?" Garret asked what seemed like a rhetorical question.

" Yes!" Mikey cried excitedly and wrapped his arms around Garret's neck, " I love you man."

" Uhhh..." Was Garret's response to a mutant turtle hugging him. He looked in my direction for help, but I just smiled and shook my head, saying to him just let it happen. He better get use to Mikey's hugs if he's going to hang around more often. I remember when Mikey first met John, he use to hug him all the time when they nerded out about comic book stuff.

" Are we going on patrol or what?" Karai's voice piped up. She had her arms crossed and was waiting very impatiently on the couch.

" Yeah, as soon as Donnie-" Raph answered but stopped when Donnie came out of the bathroom. I could still see a few drops of water on his cheeks from his shower. But I couldn't tell if it was from his shower, or if it was tears.

" I'm here." Donnie said almost in a rush. He didn't bother sitting down because when he came into the living room, we all stood up, " Uh, Hi Garret." Donnie greeted the red hair guy then turned to me with a confused look.

" Yeah there's been a change in patrols. We're going to Shredder's lair tonight." Raph announced to everyone, but was mostly directed at Donnie since he just arrived and the rest of us just kinda assumed.

" Oh it's not happening at Shredder's lair." Garret clarified.

" Then where is it happening?" Raph asked, getting really annoyed.

" Um...it's hard to explain. It'd be easier if I just show you." Garret explained some what nervously. His jaw was clenched and a sweat trickled down his forehead._ Is Raph really that scary?_ I thought to myself. _Or is there something else bothering this kid?_

" Ugh, fine. Whatever." Raph muttered in frustration and crossed his arms.

" Can we leave now?" Karai wondered, really itching to get going.

" Can we come?!" Lily called happily and jumped up from where she was sitting.

" Yeah, I wanna go!" John joined in.

" No way! You guys aren't ready for patrol." Raph concluded, " Now let's go."

" Sorry guys." I shrugged, feeling a little bad for them. Both Lily and John were excited about training as ninjas, but their time wasn't here yet for them to go on a real mission. I remember I had to wait a little while before I went on mine, " Plus, Splinter is waiting for you in the dojo."

" Taylor, you taking your weapon?" Mikey wondered right before we were out the door.

" Uh..." I didn't know if I should or not. I mean, I've only been training with my weapon for a short time now. Plus I wasn't wearing any bandages to cover my hands.

" Just go get it!" Raph shouted, his temper was sneaking up on him again.

I didn't feel like making Raph even more upset, I ran to my room and fetched my weapon. While I was in there, I put on a black T-shirt and black pants. It's now what I usually where for night patrol, so I'll blend in with the night sky. I also slipped on my 'weapon belt' as the turtles like to call it. My weapon belt was one that went over my left shoulder and cross my waist. It looked like Donnie's and Leo's, except mine goes over my left shoulder instead of my right. Due to the fact that I am left handed.

The way my weapon hatch works in the back is that it's sorta like a magnet. Since at the ends of my weapon, there's two big spiky ball like things, I wouldn't be able to slip my weapon in and out of it's hatch like Donnie does with his BO-staff. But I simply press my weapon against the hatch, and it folds in. My weapon goes in and the hatch closes again automatically. Since in both flaps are magnets, they connect back together again once my weapon is in. The same goes for when I take my weapon out. I just pull and the hatch or pouch thingy, separates and closes again by itself.

" Alright, got it." I announced as I can running back to the living room and join the patrol waiting by the door.

" Finally, let's go!" Karai urged and rushed out the door before any of us could respond.

We all followed her out the door and to the surface. We all climbed out of the manhole cover and waited for Garret to lead the way. We needed to help him up on the rooftops, but not jumping from them. Garret was already pretty good at jumping from roof to roof. He could only make basic jumps though, nothing fancy with flips or anything. But then again, it's still impressive for someone who's not a ninja.

" Alright Garret, lead the way." Raph instructed when we finished our little rest. Mikey had tripped over the edge of the roof and face-planted on it. He needed a moment to recover, but thankfully no harm had come to him.

" I think...it's this way." Garret pointed to the south of where we were standing.

" Wait, you _think_ it's that way. How 'bout you _know_ it's that way." Raph shouted and threw his arms up in the air. But Garret wasn't gonna let himself get bullied around by Raph for a second time, so he started to argue back.

" Hey, does Raph always need to fight with the leader?" I heard Mikey mumble to Karai. They were standing right behind Donnie and myself. Karai muffled a laugh in response.

" Garret is not our leader." Donnie snapped and turned around to face his little brother.

" Dude, when did you become snappy?" Mikey teased but the purple clad turtle was not amused.

" I'm not being snappy. I just had to make sure that you comprehend that situation is a one time thing. I just wanted to clarify the predicament and-" Donnie defended himself but got silenced by Karai. She put her hand over Donnie's mouth as she walked passed him. Her metal spike on the gloves she usually wears just barely missed Donnie's nose.

" Yeah. Stop talking." She pondered and took her hand off of Donnie's mouth. She walked over to join Raph and Garret, hopefully going to settle their little argument.

" Uh guys. If we're going to spy on Shredder, is it really the best idea for Karai to come with us?" I thought out loud as the thought suddenly struck me. Why hadn't we thought of this before? Karai was no longer a part of the foot clan, even though she still wears her usual metal made outfit.

" Yeah...your...right..." Donnie's words were muffled by his hand passing over his mouth, trying to get rid of the taste of metal.

" Why?" Mikey asked, his clueless self was getting the best of him again.

Donnie face-palmed himself while I explained to Mikey. I reminded him of the time we captured Karai, and when she learned that she was Miwa. She decided to stay with us inside of going back to the Shredder, she was reminded of her true family.

" Oh yeah!" It finally clued into Mikey's brain. Sometimes it's debatable that he even has a functional brain at all.

" Hey! You guys com'in or what?" Karai's voice called from a distance. Karai, Garret and Raph were already about three rooftops ahead of us. Guess we didn't hear them when they left.

We quickly caught up with them and we all began to jump the rooftops again. We jumped from roof to roof for about an hour or so. That was just because we were messing around with a bunch of cool flips, and by 'we' I mean Mikey.

But there was this one roof where everyone decided to do a flip across, it was much to big of a gap to just jump normally. But doing a flip adds altitude and distance to your jump. So Raph went across first and Karai followed shortly after. They helped Garret get across when he almost didn't make the jump. I couldn't help myself but smile. I remembered when I first started to jump rooftops, the turtles had to catch me a lot.

Finally my turn came. I was the last to cross over. I backed up a few steps and ran at full speed. I quickly jumped off the edge of the building and for a moment I felt I could fly. I love when we run on the rooftops, every time I jump from one roof to another, it's like flying. Not having any ground beneath you, even only for seconds, it sure gives you a great sensation.

I was planing to flip about midair, or in other words, when I was half way across. But I miscalculated my jump and flipped much to late. I did however land on the roof, but I landed with great force and I lost my balance. I fell on my back and my weapon dug into my leg as I hit the roof.

" Crud." I cursed beneath my breath. I didn't get up right away, I needed a moment to get my breath back because it escaped me from the impact of when I landed on my back.

" You okay there peanut?" I heard Raph's voice call out to me, but I couldn't see him. All I could see was Mikey and Donnie leaning over me.

" I'm fine." I called back to Raph and took Donnie's hand when he offered it to me. He and Mikey helped me up. Once I regain my balance, I looked down at the back of my leg. I couldn't see anything due to my black pants, but I could feel blood trickle down my leg.

" Are you sure your okay?" Donnie asked, sounding much more concerned then Raph did.

" Yeah." I responded but sounded unsure, " I think my weapon nicked me in the leg though."

" It takes a while to get use to running with weapons on your back. But you'll get the hand of it." Mikey assured and winked at me.

" Yeah, I've realized." I laughed and smiled back at Mikey. I didn't understand how Donnie, or even Leo could run with their weapons on their backs. Leo has two swords clung to him and Donnie has a freaking 6'foot staff attached to his back.

" Alright, how much farther?" Raph turned to Garret.

" Not far. See that building?" Garret pointed to a rather tall abandoned building a few roofs down to where we were. It looked almost like it was an old china shop or something, " That's where we're heading."

" Awesome! Let's go bros!" Mikey cheered and ran up ahead. He made it too our destination within a few jumps and flips. We all exchanged a glance and shrugged before running after the overly excited turtle.

When we made it to the building across the street, we crouched down and waited. The perimeter of this building was tall, so we had short little walls to duck behind when we would spy on Shredder from across the street. The only problem was that Shredder was no where to be seen.

" Garret, where's Shredder?" Raph whispered angrily. His green eyes flashed with annoyance and anyone could tell that Raph was getting fed up with the freckled faced red head. But oddly, Garret had much less freckles then a normal red heads would.

" He'll be here. He said around Midnight." Garret whispered back, even though it was more like a harsh hushed voice.

" Anyone have the time?" Karai asked and looked around.

" 11:38." Donnie answered as he stared at the screen of his T-phone.

" Great so we have twenty minutes to wait." Raph grumbled and rolled his eyes. I must say, ever since Leo left, Raph's temper has been extra...bad.

" Technically 22 minutes." I added in softly. I immediately regretted that I said anything when Raph gave me a look. His teeth were gritted and his jaw was clenched. His eyes were so narrowed that you could almost see his forehead vain, " Sorry." I whispered but no one seemed to hear me.

To pass the time, we all took turns standing guard, in case Shredder decided to come early. Raph took the first shift. It seems as though he also took the roll as leader now. Perhaps that's how he's coping with Leo missing from our lives. For example, Donnie spends more time in his lab, but is starting to go to bed actually on time, the time Leo would tell him it's time for bed. And Mikey, he started to watch re-runs of Space Heroes. So, maybe this was Raph's way. And, maybe everyone realized this, so that's why no one complained.

" Guys, someone's approaching." I called to them when it was my shift.

" Donnie, time?" Raph barked at Donnie then rushed to my side to see the van for himself.

" Midnight exactly." Donnie answered, not harmed by Raph's harshness. He came over to where we were on our knees and crouched down as well. It wasn't long before Karai, Mikey and Garret joined us too.

" And there's Shred head." Mikey noted when Shredder stepped out of the black van. A few krang bots and foot bots followed after him. FishFace and Rahzar, Dogpound double mutation form, stepped out of the van as well.

I looked to my right and seen Donnie tense up. His eyes were wide and full of terror. He was breathing heavily and look as if he was about to break out in cold sweats. I could almost hear the pounding of his heart beating in his chest.

That's when I remembered that this was the first time Donnie seen Shredder since...the incident. When Midgar was still a problem of ours, Donnie was distracted from all of his fears. I think he might have even forgotten just who we were spying. With Leo leaving, and the upcoming attack, I wouldn't blame him for being a bit distracted.

" Donnie are you gonna-" I began to say and placed a hand on Donnie's shoulder.

His head quickly looked my way, his eyes were locked with fear. He quickly scrambled away from me. I just realized that the shoulder I was touching was the same arm that nearly had no skin left on it. Of course it was all better now, but that was one of the spots where Donnie got most tortured.

" Donnie I'm-" I tried to apologized but Donnie grabbed his head, blocking out all sound.

A rush of sympathy coursed through me. I couldn't even begin to imagine what Donnie was going through right now. Remembering his torture session, remembering his screams of agony, remembering the burning pain. Of course the thing I remembered most clearly about that night was the deathly look in Donnie's eyes. The pool of blood he was sitting in. I remember Donnie whispering 'me too' to me as his last words.

A hard lump rose in my throat. I fought it back down. I needed to be here for Donnie right now. Not being in my own little world, remembering all of my fears. It was Donnie who got tortured, it was Donnie who loss his memory. And it's Donnie who needs comfort right now.

I crawled over to Donnie slowly. His back was up against the wall, his knees pressed close to his chest, hands covering his head and eyes shut tightly. Soft grunts were coming from the suffering turtle. I didn't want to approach him to quickly, I didn't want to alarm him. But as I slowly crawled my was over to Donnie's side, I seen a small stream of tears run down his cheeks.

" Donnie." I whispered in Donnie's ear. My voice was so soft it could barely be heard.

Donnie didn't respond right away. Instead he turned his head and looked at me. By the look in his teary eyes, for a moment I could swear Donnie didn't know who I was. But the look was gone in a flash as Donnie leaned on me. I instantly wrapped my arms around him.

" Why?" Donnie choked on his own words, " Why is it that everything I want to forget, I remember so clearly?"

I didn't know what to say. My heart broke for Donnie. He's been through so much and is still suffering to this day. It may not show as clearly as before, but if you look close enough you can tell that it haunts him. But Donnie keeps his pain to himself. I try to get him to open up, I want him to know that I'm here for him, but how? Sometimes I can comfort Donnie when he cries, but he never cries to his fullest. Someday, he's gonna need to let it all out and I want to make sure I'm right by his side when that day comes.

" Donnie?" I heard Mikey's innocent voice call from where he was crouching. Mikey's voice was unnaturally soft for him though genuine concern echoed loudly in it.

Mikey quickly made his way over to us. Finally one of Donnie's brothers had notice us. Raph, Karai and Garret were all to busy bickering to pay attention to anything else. Garret had suggested that he be the one to spy on Shredder since he does it a lot, and one person would be less likely to get caught.

" Donnie, are you okay?" Mikey asked. I could tell he wanted to reach out and hug his brother, just to touch him, but was afraid that he might break. I was prepared to offer Mikey if he wanted to take my place holding Donnie, but I had a feeling that it was better if I didn't move.

Donnie's eyes looked at Mikey for a moment. Gazing upon his only little brother I could tell that Donnie hated that Mikey was seeing him like this. There was also fear in his eyes as Mikey took another step towards him.

" Bro, it's okay. I-I won't hurt you." Mikey assured then took another pace towards us. I felt Donnie press closer to me. Desperate for the feeling of safety, to be reassured that he was in a safe place. It's almost scary that just seeing Shredder re-spiked all the terrible memories in Donnie's mind.

Mikey approached Donnie a little bit more, just inches away from him. It was like a human trying to gain the animal's trust. You have to be very careful and gentle unless you'll startle it and scare it away.

" What are you guys-" Raph began shouting at us then stopped dead in his sentence when he seen the shaking Donnie in my arms. He immediately went from angry mode to ultra concern. His Sai's were in clenched in his hands. He must have took them out during his quarrel with Garret. And now he was clenching them in concern for his brother.

Raph mistakenly ran over to us at top speed. Donnie quickly reacted and scrambled out of my arms. He wanted to distance himself from Raph was quickly as possible.

" Don't hurt me...please." Donnie's voice shook violently. He stared terrified at Raph and had backed up all the way against the back wall.

Raph stopped where he was and started approaching Donnie at a much slower speed.

" Donnie, what's wrong?" Raph asked and took a few more steps towards his trembling brother.

" G-get away from me!" Donnie shouted and jumped over the edge of the building. Within a few roof jumps, Donnie was out of sight.

Raph was confused to why Donnie had run away. Then he looked down at his hands, they were holding his sai's. His sai's that look a lot like sharp metal claws ready to tear at someone's flesh. Raph threw is weapons on the roof and cursed under his breath.

" Should we go after him?" Mikey wondered and walked over to Raph. He was about to answer but Karai talked before Raph could even form words.

" I think we might have a bigger problem."

All our heads turned towards Karai. She was in a battle stances with her katana blade in her hands. In front of her stood an army of foot-bots, an ambush. I jumped up from where I was sitting and drew out my weapon. Mikey did the same and Raph picked up his sai's from on the ground.

" I'm really not in the mood for this." Raph grumbled as we all leaped into battle.

This was my first battle using my Hanbo. I didn't master it yet, but I wasn't horrible. I knew all the basics of it, for example if I press the hidden button once only the top spike ball unleashes into a chain. But if I press it again, then the second one does it. And for a third time, they both retract back into the staff.

I went straight for the foot-bot right in front of me. As I was running towards it, I pressed the button once and the spiky ball became the end of a metal chain. I swung my staff, therefor swinging the chain and the spike ball. When I was the correct distance away, I swung my staff forcefully and the spike ball whacked the foot-bot over his head.

It didn't do much damage, the tilted robot head simply went back into it's proper place and flashed a glow in it's eyes. This time the foot-bot ran towards me with his sword in the air. Remembering my training, I took advantage of his exposed stomach, a common weakness in any fighting utility. I gave my Hanbo another swing and hit the bot in the stomach. But while I did so, I accidentally pressed the hidden button and the other ball and chain came swing and hit me in the back.

I fell to my knees with a little shriek. But I didn't want me to be the downfall of myself so I swept my leg underneath the foot-bot. Reacting quickly, I rolled on my back and pushed up with arms and shoulders. I sent my legs up in the air and kicked the foot-bot in the chest. This sent him higher in the air, and me landing on my feet. I retracted the chains of my Hanbo and smacked the foot-bot to the ground, defeated it.

The foot-bots are suppose to be upgrades of foot-ninjas, but the only real difference is that their eyes glow. There's still some foot-ninjas a bout, but in my opinion, foot-bots are a lot easier to defeat then the actual ninjas.

The battle didn't stop after that. I went straight for another foot-bot, but this time I took on two at the same time. I gutted each one the with the ends of my weapon, but when I went to do that for a second time, one of the foot held onto the wooden part of my weapon and yanked it from my grip.

Having the advantage, the foot-bots attacked and landed a few blows on me with their swords. Along with some punches and kicks. I was getting tossed back and forth between the two foot-bots.

When I got a little breather, I spat out a bit of blood. I wiped my hand over my mouth before jumping back into the three on one fight. I took out my throwing stars that Splinter gave me about a week ago. Even though I had loss track of my main weapon, a ninja always comes prepared. I threw my ninjas stars at the foot-bots and all of them landed squarely in each head.

That's when Mikey joined in and took out a foot-bot that was sneaking up behind me. It was also the foot-bot that had stolen my weapon.

" Taylor!" Mikey called to me and tossed me my weapon. I caught it and nodded him a thanks. And with my Hanbo, I finished off the two ninjas.

When the fight was over we all stood triumphantly, gazing upon a scene of broken foot-bots. Even though I was content with the fight, my back was stinging from where my weapon had hit me. Also a few cuts on my arms didn't feel to good and also on the back of my leg where I landed on weapon, from earlier tonight.

" Hey...where's Garret." Karai questioned as she looked around and the red head was nowhere to be found.

" That little..." Raph began, trying to come up with a name to call Garret, " Noob."

" Noob, really?" Mikey joked around.

" He's probably in the building spying on Shredder." I shared my thoughts.

" Thanks captain obvious." Karai remarked while pulling down her metal mask that she often wore.

I clenched my fist by my sides, but immediately let them go when I felt a stinging pain. I looked down at my hands and seen that they were all red and blistery. Now I know why the turtles always where bandages on their hands.

" So do we just wait for him here?" Mikey asked and put his nun-chucks pack into their belt pocket.

" You guys go, I'll deal with freckle face." Karai offered while putting her weapon back into it's pocket as well.

" Alright, let's go." Raph nodded then took off. All while spinning his sai's back into their protective pouch.

I put my Hanbo away and followed after Mikey and Raph. I quickly caught up with them, so we all ran side by side jumping from roof to roof.

" Should we go find Donnie?" Mikey asked and turned his head to Raph.

" I dunno, do you think he went back to the lair." Raph questioned. After some consideration, we decided to check back at the lair first, and if Donnie wasn't there then we would go hunt for him.

We made our way back to the lair quickly and silently. We stuck to the shadows the entire way and slipped our way into the sewer. When we reached the lair, sure enough Donnie was there.

On the way to the lair, Mikey, Raph and myself decided that I was going to be the one to talk to Donnie. And that's exactly what I did. I walked over to Donnie. He was practising punches and kicks on the living room practice dummy. Donnie rarely does this, unless he really needs to blow off some steam.

" Donnie?" I called gently to him as he threw another angry punch.

" Yeah?" He answered back and kicked the dummy, spinning it around in circles.

" You okay?" I asked and rocked back and forth on my feet.

" Fine." Donnie replied through gritted teeth and punched the dummy.

" No, you're not." I disagreed, questioning myself to why I even asked that question in the first place.

" Yes. I am." Donnie insisted and this time he took out his staff and began smacking the dummy with it.

" C'mon Donnie. Why'd you run off tonight?" I urged Donnie forward.

" Be-because I was scared." Donnie answered my question all while fighting the dummy and not looking at me, " Just seeing Shredder brought back memories. Things I've tried so hard to forget, but I can't. I thought I got over my fears, I thought that I was finally better. But I couldn't even finish one patrol. I thought that I could face my fears, by I couldn't. I'm so...stupid!" Donnie shouted angrily and lost his temper.

He pressed a button on his staff that releases a blade at the tip. He then threw his BO-staff at the dummy. It stuck right through him and broke the dummy's cord, now it was laying on the floor. That's when Donnie turned back and faced me. His eyes were sad and pleading.

" When is it my turn to get better?" He asked me, begging for some kind of answer.

" You'll be better soon." I comforted him and took a step closer to Donnie. I wrapped my arms around his neck.

" Oh really?" Donnie huffed, " It's nearly October. It's almost been a year now. How much longer do I have to wait?"

I frowned at Donnie. Not because I was disappointed in him, but because he was asking me an impossible question.

" If I could predict the future, I would tell you." I told him, smiling slightly.

Donnie sighed and took my arms off his neck, he held my hands in his.

" Your right. There's no way you could know. Sorry." Donnie apologized.

" It's okay." I chuckled a little as I answered.

It was silent for a moment. That was until Donnie noticed something strange. He unfolded his hands and opened up mine. He passed his thumb across my red blistery hands then looked up at me.

" Didn't wear bandages?"

" No, I didn't have time to put any on." I confessed and hid my hands behind my back.

" Come on. I'll take care of it." Donnie said and led me to his lab. He slid open the huge metal doors and invited me in. Donnie then told me to take a seat in his desk chair and locked his door. I sat down and leaned my weapon against the table.

Donnie went to get his medical box. His medical box was always tuck away underneath his desk for quick access in case of a real emergency. Donnie is really efficient like that.

" Hey Donnie, could you also take a look at my back and leg?" I wondered as he walked back over to me with his red box in his hand.

" Yeah sure." Donnie nodded and began treating my hands. He first washed off any grit with a wet wipe then applied rubbing alcohol all along my palm. It stung a little at first but I didn't say anything. He then took out his bandage roll and wrapped up my hands. I would have to start wearing these kinds of bandages all the time now like the turtles do, " Can you show me your back now?"

" Uh, sure." I stood up and turned around. I rolled up my shirt and revealed where my weapon had jabbed me in the back. Donnie ran his fingers over my upper back where my injury was. I flinched at the contact.

" Oh sorry." Donnie quickly apologized and took his hand away, " Hey Taylor?"

" Yeah?"

" Um..." Donnie hesitated. I could feel the heat coming off of him from embarrassment, but what could Donnie be embarrassed about? " I-I kinda need you to...uh...take off your, um, shirt so I can treat you wound properly..." Donnie's voice trailed off as he spoke.

" Sure, no problem." I tried saying casually. It wasn't that I was embarrassed to take my shirt off in front of Donnie, he's seen me change before. I was more...nervous then anything. But I didn't know why.

I slipped off my shirt and dropped it on the floor. Then I turned around to face Donnie. When I did, I seen a red tint come to Donnie's cheeks. I couldn't help by let out a small chuckle and smile at him.

" Where do you want me to be?" I asked.

" O-on the table is fine." Donnie stuttered and cleared off his desk for me to lay on. I got on and laid on my stomach. The table's surface was cold on my stomach, but I didn't mind. I turned my head to the side to look at Donnie and seen that he had took out a jar of his homemade healing gel that he invented a while back ago.

" I don't think that's necessary. Shouldn't we save it for a real emergency?" I inquired with a raise of my eye brow.

" Nah. I want to get rid of it so I can make more." Donnie shrugged and gouped the gel on his fingers. His touch quavered on my skin. I could tell Donnie was really nervous, but I didn't feel awkward at all. I really didn't care if Donnie just seen me in my bra and pants. I know he'll be mature about this.

I wrinkled my nose at the stinging of the gel. It was a cool kind of pain, like icy water getting poured on your back. But a few seconds later, the pain stopped and I felt the gel form a hard crust.

" Donnie?" I called to him as he got his spray bottle ready.

" Hmm?" Donnie replied. By the way he spoke I could tell his mind was elsewhere. He was concentrating to hard on washing off the crust.

" What are you so scared of?" I asked a question that was pricking at my brain all night.

Donnie froze. I had snapped him from his concentration, but he wasn't about to show it.

" W-what do you mean?" Donnie asked, pretending he didn't have a clue of what I was talking about.

" You know what I mean Donnie." I told him flatly, " On the rooftop, I've only ever seen you that scared a couple of times."

" Like I said. I just got freaked out, that's all." Donnie assured me and handed me my shirt. I sat up and slipped my shirt back on. Then I gave a doubtful look to Donnie. I knew that seeing Shredder brought back terrible memories for him, but I could tell there was a deeper reason to it. A much deeper reason.

" Donnie..." I said his name, and jumped off his table. I wanted to ask him a question, a question that haunted my mind every day, but I could never bring myself to say it. But for Donnie's sake, I had to ask, " What was it like? To be tortured."

After I asked the question, Donnie tensed up. His eyes immediately became watery and his fists clenched up hard. His breathing sped up rapidly and he closed his eyes. A single tear drop fell and ran down his cheek.

" W-why do you ask?" Donnie wondered through a clenched jaw and gritted teeth.

" What did it feel like? How much did it hurt?" I answered Donnie's question with my own. I couldn't tell him why I was doing this. I couldn't tell him that I was doing this for him, it would crush him.

" Please, stop." Donnie pleaded as a new stream of tears fell from his eyes.

" No. Answer me Donnie." I told him strictly. If only he knew the reason I was doing this.

But no response came from Donnie.

" Donnie." I repeated his name firmly.

" It hurt!" Donnie blurted out shouting, slashing his arm through the air, " It hurt, okay? It felt like someone was setting me on fire and I was burning slowly! It was the worst thing I've ever been through, and I'm scared! Happy now? I admit it, I'm terrified! I'm scared of getting hurt again, I'm scared of that fiery pain! I'm scared of the cold feeling when metal touches your skin!" Donnie was confessing everything. All of his fears, all of his emotions. He was getting them off of his chest, which was exactly what I wanted him to do. Thinking that Donnie might get over his fears if he hears them out loud.

The fear and pain that was etched hard in the core of Donnie's eyes was haunting. There was an anger, a sadness that I never knew Donnie felt. Remembering all of this must be hard for him, and his eyes said it all. They were wide with fear, pain and anger.

" I'm scared." Donnie chocked on his words as he stared right into my soul. Our eyes were locked hard on each other, mine searching for answers, Donnie's revealing all of them, " I'm scared of forgetting, forgetting you, forgetting everything. I'm scared of my own mind. I'm scared of failing, of being weak. That night, when I got tortured, I was weak. I am weak. I let Shredder tear me to pieces, I let him get to me, break me down, make me bleed from the inside out. I'm weak..." Donnie's voice trailed off as he started to sob. He rubbed his arms, trying to hold himself back.

I walked a few steps towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. I hated for Donnie to open up like this. But he had to face his fears if he ever wanted to get over them. Donnie then placed his hand over his mouth, trying to muffle the sound of his sobs. When he couldn't keep it all in anymore, Donnie practically flew into my arms. His head rested on my shoulder as his tears soaked into my shirt. I wrapped my arms around his and stroked his shell gently.

" Donnie, you have to be the strongest person I know." I comforted him, " Even after Shredder broke you down, tore you to pieces, and made you bleed, you still refused to tell him about the lair. Even after all you've been through, you still protected your family even then. You've been pushed past your limits, and still put other's needs in front of yours. How is that not being strong?"

I stopped hugging Donnie and grabbed his head. I forced him to look at me, right in the eyes. Dried tears stained his cheeks, leaving his eyes glossy. I then pulled Donnie towards me and kissed him. He kissed me back. When we pulled apart, I looked hard into his eyes. While they did look better, there was still uncertainty in them. There was still some sadness, and was that...guilt?

" There's something else bothering you, isn't there?" I questioned. Unable to look away from Donnie's brown eyes.

Donnie sighed, "It's...it's just..." Donnie paused, " It's nothing." He said after a brief moment of silence. But it was clearly nothing.

" No more secret keeping, remember?" I reminded him. Ever since we learned that we both knew about Midgar, we agreed to not keep things from each other anymore. We discovered that when we keep things a secret from each other, trying to protect one other, we just end up hurting them. But thankfully now, Midgar is out of our lives. Donnie opened his mouth to answer but got interrupted by a knock at the door. We exchanged a glance before walking over and opening the door. Mikey was waiting patiently outside.

" What is it Mikey?" Donnie wondered. His baby brother looked fearful and concerned.

" You guys might want to come see this." Mikey said nervously, completely unaware of what just happened inside Donnie's lab. We followed him to the living room and sat down on the couch. Raph was here sitting beside Lily with Roger on his lab. Mikey took a seat next to John. While we were on patrol, Lily and John had stayed in the lair training with Splinter. Speaking of which, Karai was not yet back with Garret.

In the living room we were watching the news on TV. I was confused to why though.

" Donnie, where would Leo be about now?" Raph wondered without looking at Donnie, he just kept starring at the TV.

" Well it's been about three weeks, and it all depends on speed. But I'd say about Europe right now, approximately France. Why?" Donnie replied.

" Look." Raph pointed to the TV. We began to listen to what Jone Brody, the news reporter, was saying.

" There's been a bombing in Paris France, destroying thousands of homes and setting fires. 60 people died and hundreds more injured. People believe the bomb was set there by this man,*shows picture of suspect* seeking revenge for the death of his brother."

Raph then clicked the pause button on the remote and the TV screen froze. We all exchanged nervous glances.

" Do you think..." Mikey started to ask the question on everyone's minds, but stopped half way, we already knew the answer and shared the same fear.

_Did Leo get caught in that bombing? Was he hurt? Would he die? Who would take care of him if he was injured? Did he need our help? Should we go after him? What if it's too late? _

These were all the questions stirring in mine, and probably everyone else's mind. But no one spoke a word. We all feared for Leo, their big brother, our leader. Was he okay?

Just then Mikey let out a soft whimper and jumped into Raph's big comforting arms. Raph held Mikey, trying to be strong, but I could see tears forming in his bright green eyes. I leaned into Donnie and hugged him, he hugged me back. John leaned up against Mikey and Lily leaned up against Raph.

We were all worrying about Leo. What would happen if Leo did get hurt? What would we do without him? How could we move on? We need Leo, to lead us, to guide us, to be a big brother. But he won't be able to do that if he never makes it back.

So now we all just sat in the living room, comforting each other. Hoping for the best, but fearing the worst. And one question that kept standing out in my head was, _What would really happen if Leo never came back to us? _

* * *

**_Okay, this was really bad timing. I've been getting a lot of reviews asking about Leo...this probably doesn't help. But hey, at least we think we know where he is!...please don't kill me. _**


	19. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

" We gotta go after him." Raph declared as he paced back and forth in the living room. A couple of hours went by since we found out about the bombing in Paris. No one could sleep, so we all stayed up and waited for Karai to come home.

" We can't go after him Raph. We don't know if Leo's in Paris at all." Donnie pointed out. He was sitting crossed armed on the couch. I was sitting next to him with Mikey on my right. Lily sat next to Mikey and John by Lily.

" Well we need to know for sure!" Raph began to raise his voice out of worry for our leader.

" There's no way we-" Donnie tried to explain to his furious big brother but got interrupted.

" Then find out!" Raph shouted and looked just about ready to lunge at Donnie.

" If I could I would. But there's no accurate way to know!" Donnie began to raise his voice a little at Raph, annoyed that he couldn't get him to understand. Donnie was right, there was no way in knowing where Leo was.

Sensing Donnie's growing hostile tone, Raph snapped. He lunged at Donnie and tackled him to the ground. The two brothers wrestled on the floor for a little bit. Each one landing punches here and there, until Donnie decided that he had enough and scrambled up. Raph, not wanting it to end, kicked Donnie forward and pinned him to the wall next to the TV.

I exchanged a glance with Lily, we decided that this was enough. We had to stop them before one of them ends up getting really hurt. So Lily and I got up and ran over to Raph and Donnie. Raph had his arm raised in the air, ready to land the final blow. That's when I jumped on Raph, trying to hold him back, and Lily jumped in between Raph and Donnie. But it was too late, Raph's fist went forward and smacked Lily in the face. She fell to the floor with a scream.

That's when it seemed like the world stopped spinning for a moment. Everyone was frozen, for what had just happen was shocking. Raph stared horrified at the floor where Lily laid, holding her nose. Blood dripped on the floor.

" My sons, what is going on?!" Splinter's voice boomed through out the lair as he emerged from the dojo and into the living room. He must have heard Lily's scream. When he looked around at the scene before him, he immediately rushed and knelt by Lily's side when he saw the blood, " What has happened?!" He demanded sternly.

" I-I...uh..um..." Raph tried to explain but was to fear stricken. He stared at his hand that punched Lily, a few drops of her blood laid stained on his knuckle's bandages. When Raph couldn't take it anymore, he ran to his room, hoping to escape what had just happened.

" What happened?" Splinter asked more calmly this time and aided Lily to her feet. That's when Mikey and John came over to the scene.

" Raph and Donnie got into a fight. Lily and I tried to stop them, but Raph accidentally punched Lily in the face." I explained sheepishly to Splinter.

" Donatello, got get your first aid kit and tend to Miss Myers" Splinter, out of respect, sometimes calls people by their last name, with the exception of me and his sons. Lily's full name is Lily, Beth Myers. And John's is John, Daniel Walker, "Mr. Walker, go get a cup of water." Splinter instructed then guided Lily to me. I then guided Lily to the couch as Splinter went to go talk to Raph.

" You okay?" I asked as I sat Lily down.

" Yeah, I think so. My nose feels as if it's on fire though." Lily's voice was muffled since she was covering her nose and her mouth.

" Can I see?" I wondered and Lily nodded. She took her hands off of her nose and revealed black and blue. Her nose was oddly placed and swelling fast. Her nose was covered in blood and looked as if it was throbbing.

Donnie then returned in the living room with his red medical box in his hand and John returned to the living room with a glass of water.

"Alright let's see." Donnie said as he sat down on the other side of Lily. She turned to face him and showed Donnie her throbbing nose and bloody hands.

" Hey John!" Lily called as he approached her with the water. Lily showed John her bloody hands and John quickly looked away.

" Gross Lily." John said without looking at her. He handed her the water then rushed to the far end of the couch. When it comes to blood, John has a pretty weak stomach.

Lily giggled before turning back towards Donnie.

" Well your nose is definitely broken." Donnie noted and began searching through his box.

" Wouldn't be the first time." Lily joked then wiped a blood drip away from her nose.

" Here." Donnie handed her a tissue to stop the bleeding. Although Donnie was the one who was in the fight, he seemed unharmed.

" Thanks." Lily's voice was stuffy since she was holding a tissue to her nose and spoke was if she was plugging it.

Donnie continued his inspection of Lily's nose. After a few minutes, he began speaking again.

" Well you nose isn't too badly broken, in fact I think I can push the bone back in place if you want. But it'll hurt."

" Go ahead." Lily shrugged it off like it was nothing. She already had a broken nose once in third grade when she fell off the swing set. And Lily also broke her arm in 7th grade when she tried to slide down the railing but ended up falling down the stairs. So she was use to broken bones.

" Okay, ready?" Donnie questioned and placed his hand on her cheek and his thumb next to her nose. Lily gave a swift nod and prepared herself for the pain. Donnie took a deep breath in and out before a look of determination struck in his eyes and he pushed Lily's nose back into place. Lily let out a short shriek but was otherwise okay.

At the same moment Lily shriek, Raph came running out of his room in a panic, leaving Splinter behind.

" Lily!" He called and ran at lightening speed. Raph swiftly and neatly jumped over and landed on the couch beside Lily, pushing Donnie aside. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled Lily into a tight hug, " Lily are you okay?"

" Raph, I'm fine. It's-"

" No you're not fine! I'm so sorry Lily." Raph interrupted and let a few tears fall from his bright green eyes.

" Raph, it's just a broken nose. I'm okay." Lily reassured the red masked turtle that held her in his arms. But Raph wasn't convinced.

" It's not okay." He said sadly, releasing Lily from the hug and placed his hands on her shoulders, " I can't keep hurting the ones I love."

In response, Lily smiled from ear to ear. Raph rarely admitted to any kind of affection to anyone, but Lily changed him. She got the big softy in Raph to come out, which is very hard to do. He could open up to her, and she could make me calm down when he gets angry. Lily is very special to Raph, and now that I thought more about it, Lily and Raph are more serious then I've realized.

It was Lily this time that pulled Raph into the hug and took him by surprise. After a moment or two, Raph began to hug back and lightly kissed Lily on her neck. Just then, Karai came walking into the lair.

" I'm back!" She called then stopped walking a few feet away from the couch, " What'd I miss?"

I exchanged a glance with Mikey and John, who rejoined the group from the far end of the couch. And Donnie just rolled his eyes.

" A lot." He answered simply, "Now I hate to break up the reunion but I need to finish fixing your girlfriend's nose." Donnie spoke and pulled Raph away from Lily. Raph moved down the couch to make room for Donnie.

" Right..." Raph's voice trialed off as he rubbed the back of his head.

" Whoa, was tough guy crying?" Karai asked in a taunting way and sat herself down by John.

" No...shut up!" Raph shouted, denying that he ever had any feelings.

"Who pushed his buttons?" Karai whispered to John. He began whispering back to her everything that she missed tonight, " Wait what happened to Leo!?" Karai shouted and jumped up nervously. As I stared over at them, I could of swore that I noticed a flash of hurt in John's eyes...and was that jealousy?

" He could have gotten got in the bombing." Donnie replied as he put a piece of bandage across Lily's nose, " There, done."

" Thanks Donnie!" Lily smiled happily, not harmed by the fact that she looked like Rudolph the red nose reindeer. Donnie just smiled in response.

" Hey Karai, what took you so long?" I asked, wanting to change the subject. We had to get our minds off of Leo, he's probably okay...I hope.

" Oh, Garret went to spy on Shredder. It took forever to find him in that little warehouse. It's a lot bigger on the inside then the out. And he's a lot more stealthier then I thought. Then I had to walk Peewee home, he's even more scrawny and weak then Donnie over here."

" Hey!" Donnie shouted at Karai's insult, but Karai ignored him and continued.

" Then when we got to his house, he filled me in on Shredder's plans. After that, his parents noticed me and invited me in. Ugh, that was torture. They called me his 'lady friend' that apparently Garret always talks about."

" His...lady friend?" John almost chuckled as he spoke.

" Yeah. And then they sat me down and we did a puzzle! What kind of person still does puzzles!" Karai exclaimed then added, " Other then you scrawny." And she pointed a Donnie. His mouth was open like he was about to answer, then he shut it and glared at Karai, "So...Raph broke her nose?" Karai changed the subject, I could tell that she was trying really hard not to think about Leo, we all were.

" Yeah...but it was an accident." Lily defended Raph as he hid his face in shame with his knees.

I kinda zoned out after that. The conversations around me was a blur because I was focusing too hard on Mikey. He seemed unusually quiet. His knees were up by his chest and his chin rested on them. Mikey's baby blue eyes looked rather dull and sad. And I had a feeling that I knew what he was thinking of.

" Taylor?" I got snapped back into reality when I heard Donnie call my name. Sooner then I knew it, everyone was standing up, looking expectantly at me.

" What?"

" Are you coming?" Donnie wondered.

" Coming where?" I asked embarrassingly, I could feel my cheeks start to get red.

" To bed."

" Oh yeah. Coming." I answered with a shake of my head and stood up. Lily and John were getting comfy on the couch, I guess they were staying the night. So I followed Mikey and Donnie to my room, since their rooms are on the same side of the lair as mine. When I got to my room, Donnie continued walking towards his, but I stopped Mikey.

" Huh?" Mikey turned around as I grabbed his arm.

" Hey Mikey, you alright?" I asked and let his arm go. I was really worried about Mikey, he seemed too sad for his usual bright happy self.

" Oh, yeah...I'm fine." Mikey put on a fake smile and tried to sound happy. But I could see right through him.

" You worried about Leo?" I guessed and Mikey slumped his shoulders.

" Yeah..." His voice trailed off as he stared at the ground.

" Did you want to sleep in my room tonight?" I offered. Usually when Mikey gets scared or nervous, he'd sometimes sleep in my room for the night. We stay up and talk, and that usually gets his mind off of things.

A small whimper came from Mikey as he nodded his head. Mikey walked to his room and returned to mine a few moments later with his orange sleeping bag and pillow. We entered my room and Mikey set his sleeping bag up on the floor and got his pillow nice and fluffy. He then got snug and I climbed into my bed.

" Did you want to talk?" I asked and turned on my side so I could face Mikey. He looked really small in his sleeping bag. Mikey, being a rather short turtle, usually is always small, but he looked different. Like a scared little child kind of small.

" I...I'm scared." Mikey confessed as he thought of the right words to say, " What if we never see Leo again?"

" Well, Donnie isn't sure Leo is even in Paris."

" Yeah, but odds are he is. I mean, he's been gone for three weeks right?" Mikey stated. He did have a point. Plus, Donnie is rarely ever wrong. But I didn't want to crush all of Mikey's hope. I didn't want him be sad, so I had to come up with something...but nothing came.

" ...yeah...but maybe he wasn't caught in the bombing. Maybe he's already in Japan." I suggested, hoping it was enough to cheer Mikey up.

" I doubt it. Leo needs to get to Japan. And to get there on foot in three weeks? I don't think that's physically possible."

" When did you start talking all smart like?" I huffed in a joking matter.

" Well, it be possible if you were Sonic the hedgehog." Mikey added on, ruining his serious statement.

Silence fell over me and the orange clad turtle. I thought that maybe Mikey didn't feel like talking anymore. But he started up the conversation again.

" Hey Taylor?"

" Yeah?"

" How are things between you and Donnie?" Mikey's question caught me by surprise. I never expected him to bring this up. This kind of conversation I would have with Leo, not cute innocent Mikey.

" Um, what do you mean?" I questioned. What exactly did Mikey mean? Why was he asking this?

" Well, Donnie acted really strange tonight. Is he okay?" Mikey explained into father detail and looked at me with curious eyes.

" Yeah, Donnie's fine. He just got a little scared." I repeated to Mikey what Donnie had told me earlier tonight. Except, in much less details. There was no way I was going to tell Mikey what Donnie confessed to me, all of his fears. I didn't want to break his trust, not again.

" Just a little? I don't think I've ever seen my bro that scared before." Mikey said with a suspicious tone. Was he catching on that I wasn't telling the entire truth? But I couldn't think about that, I had to stay calm.

" Just...seeing Shredder brought back...bad memories for Donnie. And...I guess he was mad himself for getting scared." I told Mikey some more, but not revealing to much.

"You guess? Or you know?" Mikey asked innocently. His blue eyes were round with curiosity and wonder. This was probably the most serious conversation Mikey and I ever had.

" Okay detective Mikey. Why all the questions?" I answered Mikey's question with another question.

" I dunno, I guess I'm just worried about my brothers." Mikey answered and looked up at my ceiling with his hands behind his head.

" You guess or you know?" I repeated what Mikey had asked a few moments ago.

Mikey glanced my way and smiled, " Haha, very funny."

I smiled back a him with a gleam in my eyes. For a moment, I forgot to worry. I forgot to worry about Donnie and his fears, about Leo and the bombing, about Lily and her broken nose. Just to see Mikey smile made me smile and eased myself to sleep.

* * *

We were all gathered at the kitchen table. Master Splinter was at the head of the table with Raph on one side and Donnie on the other. I sat beside Donnie and then John sat next to me. Lily was sitting next to Raph with Mikey on her other side and Karai was at the other end of the table. We were discussing what Shredder's plans were that Karai over heard about a week ago.

" So, what exactly did Shredder say?" Raph started with the main questioned. He seemed to take on the roll of leader ever since Leo left about a month ago. It's also September 28th, one day before the turtles mutation day. But no one said anything about it yet, so I decided not to mention anything.

" He was gathering a bunch of new soldiers, mutants too. He didn't talk much about his plans though." Karai informed us on what happened a week ago. For the past week, nobody really talked to one other. We were all to caught up with our own thoughts, worrying about Leo. That was, until we decided that Leo wouldn't want us to just sit around. He would make a move. So that's what we decided to do.

" Who was all there?" Donnie wondered as he jotted down notes, hoping to find out something useful about Shredder and his secret plans.

" Besides Shredder, FishFace and Rahzar, just a bunch of random mutants. Oh, and TigerClaw was there too."

" Aw great, that kitty's back?" Mikey moaned.

" Who's TigerClaw?" I asked, a bit confused to what we were talking about.

" Another enemy of ours." Raph responded flatly. It seemed as if the turtles have lots and lots of enemies at this moment. There's the krang, Shredder, Foot-ninjas, other mutants and as of now, TigerClaw.

" Did Shredder say anything at all about his plans?" Donnie questioned and looked up from his note book.

" From what Garret told me, he just explained how he's planning to drive us out and fight in central park." Karai replied. We weren't finding much information about Shredder's plans. We have to strike first, but we don't know when or how, " Oh! And he plans to attack in like, four or five months."

" That doesn't give us a lot of time." Splinter concluded and stroked his long thing white beard.

" But Sensei, five months is like...100 and..." Mikey began but paused as he tried to do the math in his head.

" 152 days." Donnie informed and finished Mikey's statement for him.

" Yeah...what Donnie said."

" That's true Michelangelo. But still, that does not give us a lot of time to train not only you and your brothers, but Lily and John as well." Splinter reminded. Lily and John only been training for a few weeks now, but they were learning quickly, "Speaking of which, we should being training soon."

" Hai Sensei." We all said simultaneously with a nod of our heads. After we finished up breakfast and the dishes, the three turtles, Karai, myself and my two friends headed towards the dojo where Splinter was waiting patiently.

" For today's training," He began, " Michelangelo and Donatello will train Taylor with her new weapon. Raphael and Karai will spar. Miss Myers and Mr. Walker will train with me." When Splinter finished explaining today's lesson, we all split up in separate sections of the dojo.

Donnie, Mikey and myself went to train over by the weapon's cabinet. Splinter, Lily and John stayed by the bonsai tree and Raph went with Karai on the opposite corner from us. I got my out weapon, which was leaning up against the cabinet and waited for the training session to begin.

" So where do you want to begin?" Donnie asked both me and Mikey.

" I dunno, how's her stance?" Mikey wondered though directed the question more towards Donnie then myself.

" Taylor, do warrior one." Donnie instructed kindly. Doing as I was told, I got into the first battle position. I held my Hanbo diagonally with my elbows by my side and knees bent. I felt a little pressured being underneath the gaze of both Donnie and Mikey. I wanted to impress them, especially Donnie.

" Don't hold your elbows so close to your sides. Keep them lose, relax." Mikey suggested with a kind, warm hearted smile.

" Good, now switch to warrior two." Donnie congratulated me, then I switched position. I went from warrior one, to warrior two. I was now standing up straight with my arms glued to my front-sides as they were suppose to be. My weapon was up right and pressed against me. With was a good pose to be in when you want to dodge a quick attack, " Awesome! Now continue to number three.'

I switched once again. This time, warrior three, I was in a lunge stance. I held my Hanbo in one hand and out in front of me. It was turned diagonally. My left arm was out as well, elbow up. It looked like when your trying to protect a basket ball, your dribbling with one hand and blocking with the other.

" Lower your elbow a bit." Donnie corrected my stance and guided my left elbow down. Once he backed away, Mikey continued.

" Okay, now show us your strike."

I quickly went from warrior three back to warrior two and while in that stance, I placed my Hanbo in my left hand and swung it out. Donnie and Mikey exchanged a glance then told me to do strike number two. I broke formation and held my weapon in two hands again then swung it like a baseball bat.

" Try bending your knees more when you strike. While force does come from your arms, power comes from your legs. The strike means nothing if you don't have a good balance stance." Donnie told me and I tried his suggestion. I tried strike three, which was a trust forward, or in other words a jab. It worked. I got more power and force. I smiled at my success then continued on with strike four. A diagonal swipe through the air, both hands on the weapon.

" Awesome!" Mikey almost shouted then calmed himself, "Okay, so you know how to strike. But do you know how to spin it?"

" Well, I know how to turn it." I shrugged, hopping my answer will be good enough.

" Okay. Do you know how to do it properly?" Mikey re-arranged his words.

" Most likely not." I sighed with a slight smile. Even though I've been training as a kunoichi for two years, I still have lots to learn.

" Well this is kinda like stage two of your training. It's a bit tougher then the basics because you have to learn a double technique. While you need to learn how to spin a BO-staff, you also need to learn how to spin nun-chucks." Donnie explained. I was glad and all to have a weapon, but it takes a lot to learn how to use it.

" Donatello!" Splinter called from across the dojo and interrupted our training, " Come here for a moment please."

" Hai Sensei." Donnie responded and walked over to his teacher. Leaving Mikey and I alone to train.

" Okay, so while Donnie's gone, I'm gonna teach you how to spin a nun-chucks. But with...your weapon." Mikey explained and took out his weapon. I pressed the switch on my Hanbo and one of the spike ball fell to the floor with a thunk as the chain came out.

Mikey demonstrated how to spin a nun-chuck, with a few comments here and there. Like he explained how it's all in the wrist movement, but the spin should be kept small and swift. It took me a couple of tries, but eventually I did manage to get the spike ball up in the air and spinning.

" Now take a swing at me." Mikey challenged with an amused glow in his baby blue eyes.

" Y-you sure? I don't wanna hurt you." I told him. I know what it feels like to get hit with this, and let me tell you that it hurts.

" Ha! You think you can hit me?" Mikey joked and stared walking circles around me. I shrugged and decided to take on Mikey's challenge. I spun the spiked ball at the end of the chains and took a swing at Mikey. He ducked to the ground and quickly stood back up.

Mikey took out his other nun-chuck and spun them around a couple of times before taking a swing at my head. I defended by holding my Hanbo up in the air and let Mikey's nun-chuck wrap around it. Before he could pull my weapon out of my hand, I spun around and twisted my Hanbo towards the ground, thus making Mikey let one of his nun-chucks go.

" Nice move!" He congratulated me before getting back into fighting mode.

I charged at Mikey, ready to jab him in the gut as I retracted the chain and the spike ball glued back to the tip of my weapon. But when I attempted to hit the orange mask turtle, one minute he was there and the next he was gone. I stood there in confusion until I felt a foot kick my back and knock me to the ground.

I rolled over on my back just in time to see Mikey come flying at me. With quick thinking I stuck the Hanbo in the air and hit Mikey right in the stomach. Being phased, I took this opportunity to jump up and tackle Mikey to the floor. I held my weapon horizontal over Mikey's throat. He smiled at me for a moment then his smile faded. Fear and panic came over Mikey's eyes and he started making a choking sound. Realizing that I must be choking him I relaxed and loosen my grip.

Mikey smiled wickedly then flipped me over with a kick of his foot. The air escaped my lungs as I laid their on the rugged floor breathless. Mikey quickly jumped on me and pinned me down. I struggled for a bit under his grip but couldn't break free.

"Okay, you win!" I huffed, finally regaining my breath.

"Haha, I told you that you couldn't beat me!" Mikey laughed evilly and stood up.

"That's not fair! You tricked me." I defended, "And technically you only said that I couldn't hit you. So ha!"

Mikey stared blankly at me. Confused by my logic.

"All I know is that I won, you loss." Mikey smiled at the ground and stuck his hands up defensively.

"Yeah, yeah I let my guard down." I sighed and stood up as Mikey offered his hand to me. After that, Splinter announced that training was done for the day. He of coursed stayed inside the dojo and meditated.

We all walked out of the dojo and went to do our own things. Lily and Raph went to Raph's room and picked up Roger on the way. The whole way to Raph's room, he kept asking Lily if she needed anything.

" A drink? Are you hungry? Are your feet tired, I could carry you." He offered. Raph felt so bad for breaking Lily's nose, he would do anything to make it up to her. But Lily denied his offers. She already forgave him a hundred times. And would forgive him many more.

John and Karai sat on the couch together. They began reading comic books which John got Karai into. She was never one for reading comics, but if John liked it, Karai decided to give it a try. She seemed to be spending lots of her time with John. It was nice to see her move on from Leo, now if only Leo could do the same.

I followed Donnie to his lab and poor Mikey was left without anyone to hangout with. But in the end, he stayed with John and Karai.

In the lab, Donnie finished applying some healing gel to my week old wounds. He wanted to use up the last bit before the battle with Shredder. So he could re-use the jar. Once he was done that, we began to list off the ingredients that Donnie needed to make more. That was, until Mikey came walking in.

"Hey guys." He sounded sad, which was unusual for Mikey.

"Hi Mikey, what's the matter?" I asked as Mikey walked towards us and sat up on Donnie's desk beside me.

"I'm bored. I have no one to hang out with." Mikey whined and looked at Donnie and me with sad pleading eyes.

"Why don't you hang out with John?" Donnie wondered. John and the freckled face turtle seem to have a great connection, since they're both comic book fanatics.

"I would, but he's with Karai." Mikey answered while staring at his feet in utter disappointment.

"So hang out with both of them." I said, a bit confused to what the problem was.

"I would, but I think they want to be left alone."

"Oh...then why don't you invite Garret over." I suggested. Even though I'm not a personal fan of Garret, I do want to cheer Mikey up. I'd figure since Garret is also a comic book fan, they'd get along really well.

"Really?" Mikey looked up at me with bright eyes.

"Sure, why not?" I shrugged and Mikey leaned over to hug me. I chuckled a little and hugged him back.

"I'm gonna go call him!" Mikey announced excitedly and ran out of the lab. Garret's been coming to the lair for a while now, and once he even gave Mikey his cell number.

Once Mikey left, I turned my attention back to Donnie. Who was concentrating very hard on writing everything down. His eyes were narrowed and fixed on the piece of paper and his tongue was sticking out. I couldn't help but smile.

"Almost done?" I hovered over the paper to see what Donnie had written down so far.

"Yeah..." Donnie responded absentmindedly as he jotted the last ingredient down, "Done."

"Good, so when do you plan on going?" I wondered.

"Tomorrow. Since I'm going to the junkyard anyway. I thought I might as well get the ingredients too." Donnie explained and put his pen back into it's holder. He folded up his list and set it in a brown shoulder bag.

"You know tomorrow is-" I began but Donnie finished my sentence.

"Mutation day. Yeah, I know."

"Are we gonna do anything?" I asked. It was after all their 17th 'birthday. You can't not celebrate that. Right?

"I don't think so. It wouldn't be the same without Leo." Donnie pointed out with a hing of sadness.

"Yeah, you're right." I agreed. We were hoping that Leo would have been back by now, but we knew that, that was unlikely. He probably just got to Japan now, if he wasn't caught in the Paris bombing. But the truth is, we don't know when Leo is coming back. He was driven mad with love. His mind was not in it's place, his thoughts were only on the girl he loves, Karai. So all we can do now is hope. Hope that our fearless leader will be back in time for our battle with the Shredder. For our final battle.

* * *

**Ugh...filler chapters. I hope I didn't bore you with this and hopefully next chapter will be a little more eventful. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think! Thanks! XD**


	20. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

" Taylor, you coming?" Donnie wondered as he waited by the entrance of the lair. He was waiting for me because we were going to go to the junkyard together. He was wearing the brown shoulder bag and I slipped my weapon strap on over my plain purple T-shirt and black yoga pants. I put my Hanbo in it and joined Donnie by the door.

" Ready." I nodded as we walked out of the lair. We said our goodbyes before we did so and asked in anyone needed anything, but they all said no, "So, why the junkyard? Don't you just need the ingredients for the gel?" I asked as we walked down the sewer tunnels.

" Well, I'm also looking for parts. I'm fixing up the Stealth bike and I also want to re-build the Shellraser." Donnie explained and climbed up the ladder. He lifted up the manhole cover and peeked around to see if anything was coming. When the cost was clear, he signalled for me to come up and we slipped out of the sewers.

We quickly made our way on top of the roofs of New York city and began running. Donnie led the way.

" So when we get there, I want you to start looking for these items." Donnie told me and got out a piece of paper from the bag. It had a bunch of metallic parts drawn on it with their names underneath. I have to admit, Donnie was a pretty good illustrator.

I took the paper from Donnie's hand and slipped it in my pocket. We arrived at the junkyard about half an hour later. We landed right in front of the electric gates. Donnie crouched down in front of it and interlocked his hands together. He told me to jump up and he would flip me over the gate. So I ran at him and leaped in the air. I felt Donnie's hands under my feet as he pushed up and flipped me over. I landed on my feet on the other side of the gate.

" Okay, there's a medical clinic about ten minutes away from here. I'm gonna go there then meet you back here. Don't leave the junkyard, okay?" Donnie instructed and looked at me with seriousness in his eyes.

" I'll be fine. Now hurry before the clinic opens." I assured him as we talked through the fence. Donnie smiled and nodded at me before taking off once again. Once he was out of sight, I turned and began searching through the junkyard. I took the list out of my pocket and looked for the gears, chips, and copolymers that were on the list.

Ten minutes was gone in a flash and sooner then I knew it, Donnie returned. So far I had found one thing of the list, which was pretty impressive considering how big and gray this junkyard is. Not to mention really stinky too.

" Hey." Donnie greeted me as he jumped from the air and landed in front of me, sending garbage and junk flying in all directions.

" Hi." I laughed a little as I hit with a few pieces of junk.

" Whoops, sorry." Donnie laughed nervously then continued, "Find anything yet?"

" Yeah, I found the Pentium chip you wanted." I told him and took the thumb size chip out of my pocket.

" Awesome!" Donnie cheered and took the chip from me, "Thanks Taylor." Donnie thanked me and gave me a quick kiss.

We both began searching through the junkyard for the parts on the list, and anything else that would be useful. As I was searching, I glanced up at Donnie. He was only about ten feet away from me, but completely distracted by all the stuff. Donnie looked like a kid in a candy store. He could hardly believe the kind of stuff that some people would throw away. And every few minutes, he would find something and feel the need to show me.

" Taylor, Taylor look!" Donnie called and scrambled over me, "Look what I found." Donnie held a what looked like a computer chip in front of me. But I knew by the green colour and silver outlining that it was no ordinary chip.

" Whoa, a quantum-plasma chip." I said in awe. It was only the most advance memory chip in the U.S.A

" I know! Oh the things I could to with this." Donnie grinned from ear to ear in his little nerd freak out.

" I can't believe someone would throw this away." I spoke in disbelief and took the chip from Donnie's grasp so I can inspect it myself. Sure enough, it was a quantum-plasma chip, and it was now in the possession of Donnie.

" It must of been by mistake or something. Like from a prototype of a computer." Donnie hypothesize as I handed him back the memory chip. Donnie slipped the chip in his bag for safe keeping and we began searching again.

We searched all morning. We got all the parts we needed and then some. Donnie and I would pick up anything that looked cool, or thought was useful. Even if we didn't need it now, we thought some things might come in handy for later on.

" Hey Donnie, think this will be useful?" I asked and he looked in my direction. I asked an obvious question because what I was holding in my hands was a run-down krang blaster gun. Donnie eyes stretched as wide as the moon.

" Whoa!" He exasperated and practically crawled over the junk pile to get to me. He grabbed the blaster gun from my hands and examined it, "This is awesome!"

" Yeah, I figured we could use it." I had a hint of pride in my voice, "I found it underneath all this junk."

" We're definitely gonna take this home. But first-" Donnie paused and snapped open a part of the krang gun, "Take out the tracker chip." Donnie grabbed a microscopic sized piece from inside the blaster gun and flicked it away.

" Okay, that seems almost too easy." I pointed out. And Donnie shrugged before responding.

" For advance alien lifeforms, sometimes they can be rather stupid."

I giggled at Donnie's comment before glancing down at my watch. My eyes went wide when I seen that it was already one O'clock.

" Hey Donnie." I began, "You hungry for lunch?"

" Why, what time is it?" Donnie wondered and looked at me confusingly. I now understood how Donnie can sometimes loose track of time when he's in the junkyard. It feels like time literally flies.

" One O'clock. Wanna grab some lunch at Antonio's?"

" Sure. But how are we gonna hide this krang gun?" Donnie asked. He had a point, we couldn't just got strolling in a pizzeria with a giant gun in our hands.

" We could...leave it on the roof." I suggested nervously. It's not that I was nervous, it's just that I couldn't think of a better idea. But Donnie seemed to think that it was good enough and went along with it.

We left the Junkyard and started running on the rooftops. It was a cool autumn day, the breeze up here was nice and refreshing. And oddly didn't smell like normal New York pollution. They way it whipped across one's face was reassuring and enjoyable. Each time I jumped or flipped from one roof to another, it felt like for brief moments, I was flying. Those moments ended as soon as we skidded to a halt right on the roof of Antonio's.

Donnie set the blaster gun on the roof .We hopped down and landed in the back. I tapped on the back window and waited for Antonio to show up. Antonio now knows about the turtles, and knows about Donnie and me. I trusted him enough to tell him, and he was very exceptent.

" Ah Taylor, long time no see." Antonio's voice interrupted my thoughts and brought me back to reality.

" Hey Antonio." I greeted him and hugged him through his little half door. It opens like a gate almost. The door was split in two, a top half and a bottom half. And right now, only the top half was opened.

" What brings you here?" He wondered then glanced at Donnie. He nodded his head in greetings and Donnie waved in return.

" We're looking for an actual decent meal." I laughed as I spoke. Antonio is always bragging how his pizza is the best, and honestly, it is.

" Well you came to the right place." He assured and opened the door fully as he invited us in.

" You sure?" I wondered. Donnie isn't exactly, excepted in society. And it might be bad for Antonio's business if a giant mutant turtle is spotted in his restaurant.

" Yes of course! I have a table set up in the back. You can sit back there." Antonio insisted and reached out an arm to urge me and Donnie forward. We walked in and sat at a wooden table in the back of the kitchen. No one else was working today, so it was only Antonio.

The kitchen was clean, well at least for a pizzeria. There was counter tops circling the entire kitchen and a wood-stove oven built into the wall. The counters were white with a black surface. The back splash was a pattern of black and white tiles. Underneath the counters were draws and such. For keeping knives, forks, spatula's and other utensils like that. Then in the corner was a white fridge full of stored pizza dough. All in all, it was a pretty nice kitchen.

" So, what kind of pizza would you like today?" Antonio asked us and wiped his hands on his apron.

Donnie and I exchanged a glance. By the look upon his face and the gleam in his eyes, I knew we were thinking the same thing.

" Two slices of Hawaiian pizza please." I ordered for the both of us. Mine and Donnie's favourite kind of pizza was Hawaiian, so it was never hard to decide.

" Coming right up!" The Italian-Canadian declared and started making the pizza.

" Nice place." Donnie smiled and looked around the room.

" Only the best for Antonio." I responded with a smile upon my face. It felt nice to get away from it all. Right now, I didn't have to worry about Shredder, about Leo or about my friends training as ninjas. I didn't have to live in fear every waking moment, I didn't have to keep thinking about what if something would happen and Donnie would suddenly forget me, again. I could enjoy this moment that Donnie and I shared. And he must of noticed my constant smile because he gave me this suspicious yet happy look.

" What?" He wondered with a raised eyebrow and a sly smile.

" Nothing." I sighed happily. Right now all I could think about was Donnie, and how happy he makes me. In my eyes, everything about him is perfect. His eyes, his cute missing tooth smile, his personality, everything. And that was all mine.

" C'mon, now you have to tell me." Donnie pushed on, wanting to know what I was thinking about.

" I'm just..." I paused and thought about a right word to describe it, " Thankful."

" Oh yeah? For what?" He wondered, his curiosity continuing to grow.

I opened my mouth to respond but Antonio interrupted the moment with two pipping hot slices of Hawaiian pizza that he set down in front of us.

" Dinner is served." He announced.

" Wow, that was fast. Thanks Antonio." I thanked him for the meal then began to eat.

" No problem. Let me know if you kids need anything else." And with those last words, Antonio left to go tend to his other customers out front. Leaving me and Donnie alone.

" Mm, this is so good!" Donnie said through mouthfuls of pizza.

" Yeah." I laughed a little as Donnie inhaled his pizza slice, "It's kinda funny how even though I'm 16 and your now 17, we're still referred to as kids."

" Well technically turtles age differently then humans. Our 'turtle years' are almost triple the time of your human years, so I'm technically still 15. But since I'm also half human, I can also be considered as 17. But then again, I have the cells of a turtle, but more human DNA then turtle. So if on a ratio-" Donnie began his little geek speech but stopped when he caught me staring at him and smiling, "What?" he asked.

" You're cute when you start ranting." I told him without hesitation this time. I had my elbow on the table and my chin in my hand.

" I don't rant, but thanks." Donnie smiled then began talking again, "You look cute too."

" But I didn't rant."

" No, I meant in general." Donnie clarified. I looked myself up and down. All I was wearing was black yoga pants and a dark purple T-shirt. My hair was tied back in a low ponytail and it hung over the side of my shoulder. My sneakers were worn down and torn a little at the toes. They were black and lime green. Honestly, I didn't really know what Donnie was talking about.

" Uh, thanks. You're crazy, but thanks." I told him with a side smile. Donnie gave a slight chuckled in response.

We finished up our lunch, then said our goodbyes to Antonio when he came back into the kitchen.

" Wait, before you go, let me give you some ice cream. On the house." He insisted. While selling mostly pizza, Antonio does supply a few other treats on his menu. And ice cream was one of them, even though he only had three flavours.

I exchanged a glance with Donnie and he nodded his head. I told Antonio what kind of ice cream we wanted and he went to get two cones of the ice cold treat. He returned a moment later with a vanilla cone for me and a strawberry for Donnie. We told Antonio thanks then left his restaurant. It was currently two forty, so Donnie and I decided just to walk around town for a little while. Well more like to walk around town on the rooftops.

Donnie got the blaster gun from Antonio's roof and stuck it in his shoulder bag. It didn't quite fit, and half of it was sticking out, but it would have to do.

After an hour or so of just walking around on the rooftops and eating our ice cream, Donnie and I finally came to a stop as we decided to rest. We layed down together on a rooftop and looked up at the sky. It was gray and covered with clouds. But in a few spots, patches of sunshine shone through.

Donnie and I spent a good half hour on that rooftop, just laughing and talking without a care.

" Okay okay, I think I rather eat candle wax then bug guts." I finally answered Donnie's question.

" Really? You know that there's bugs in peanut butter right?" Donnie questioned.

" So instead of pure bugs, would I be able to just eat peanut butter?" I wondered. For the last half hour or so, Donnie and I were asking each other weird embarrassing questions to see how one would react. There was no purpose behind it, just to have fun.

" Hmm." Donnie paused and thought about it for a moment, " No. It'll have to be pure bugs."

" What kind of bugs?"

" Uh...beetles." Donnie answered with an evil grin but amusement shown in his eyes.

" Gross! Definitely the candle wax then." I told him and scrunched up my face in disgust.

" Yeah, me too." Donnie laughed. I smiled at him when he said the words me too. Sure, they weren't in the same context as the first time, but anytime one of us said 'me too' it was always special and brought a smile upon our faces. The words 'me too' always brought a constant reminder of when Donnie and I began. Of how our relationship just grew from that point on. In a way, 'me too' was our beginning.

" Okay my turn." I stopped and thought about what I would asked, " Okay, um. What was the worst day of your life." As soon I said it, I regretted it. I didn't mean to asked such a question, I already knew the answer, " Sorry Donnie. I think I already know. You don't have to answer."

" No, it's okay." Donnie reassured me, "Let me guess, you think that the worst day of my life was when I got tortured?"

I nodded my head.

" Well your wrong. The worst day of my life...was the day I woke up from being passed out." Donnie confessed, though I couldn't see why. So I asked.

" How was that the worst day of your life? Wasn't it a good thing that you woke up?"

" It was the worst day of my life," Donnie began, " because it was the day I forgot you."

I smiled at Donnie's sweet words. We leaned in towards each other and pressed our foreheads against each other.

" Thanks." I whispered to him. In response, Donnie leaned forward even more and kissed me. It was a nice kiss, I could feel the warm love coming off of Donnie. But it was like as soon as we started kissing, we stopped.

When we pulled apart, a peaceful silence fell over as I stared up at the sky. The clouds and the spots of sunlight created a beautiful pattern in the sky. And a ray of sunlight was basking down upon my face. Despite the cool fall breeze, the sunlight felt warm upon my skin. It was an enjoyable moment of quiet, just the steadiness of our breathing and the cars zooming by could be heard.

That's when I glanced over at Donnie, he was staring at me with a warm glow in his eyes and a soft smile on his face. My shoulders went up and down a little as I let out a soft laugh.

" What?" I wondered why Donnie was looking at me that way.

" Remember at Antonio's, you said that you were feeling thankful?" Donnie reminded me.

" Yeah." I confirmed his sentence with a nod of my head. I was still curious to where the purple clad turtle was going with all of this.

" I know what you meant now." Donnie said warmly. Still curious, I urged forward.

" Really? What are you thankful for then?"

Donnie answered me with love in his eyes and voice, " For this day, for this moment, for you."

At those words, I turned to my side and looked straight into Donnie's eyes. It warmed my heart to hear Donnie say that. The kindness I seen in his brown-red eyes was overwhelming. Sometimes I forget just how much I love this one mutant turtle.

" You're just so...beautiful." Donnie complimented me and brushed a stray piece of hair out of my face and behind my ear.

" Stop it." I told Donnie. He was making me blush, hard.

" I'm thankful that you're mine." Donnie confessed and wrapped his arms around me. I let him hold me and pressed my head close against his chest. To reassure myself that I wasn't dreaming. I wanted to make sure that this, this moment, was real. It just seems like everything in my life has taken a turn down hill. I'm constantly worrying about Leo, about Donnie, about our final battle with Shredder. And this moment, just seemed too good to be true. So I was thankful that it was true. It is real.

" I'm also thankful that you're mine." I whispered to Donnie. I heard the steady beating of his heart. It was so comforting, his grasp, his touch, his sent. Everything about Donnie just made me feel better inside. Made me feel complete.

" I know that it doesn't mean much, but I love you." Donnie said and kissed the top of my head. I looked up at him, confused.

" What do you mean, 'doesn't mean much?" I asked, "Telling me that you love me means everything to me."

" But it's not enough." Donnie beamed, "I can't say 'I love you' enough times to show you the amount of love that I actually feel. You're my world Taylor, you're my everything."

At this point tears stared welling up in my eyes, causing my vision to blur. They threatened to come spilling out of my eyes, but I wouldn't allow that. Crying was not going to ruin this moment for me. I could sense the sincerity behind Donnie's words, I knew they had a deep meaning behind them. I knew he meant every word that he said. But why?

" Donnie?"

" Yeah?"

" Why tell me this? Why now?" I asked the question that buzzed deep in my thoughts.

" Because in a few months, I might not get to hold you anymore." Donnie confessed as he choked on his words.

" What do you mean?" I wondered. What the heck is going on in Donnie's mind?

" Our final battle with the Shredder is coming up, and it's gonna come faster then we expect. What if something happens, what if you get hurt?" Donnie poured out all his thoughts and worries.

" Hey." I sat up so I could stare Donnie right in the eyes, "Remember what we promised each other?"

" How could I forget? I promised you that I'll never forget you, ever again. You're truly unforgettable."

" And I promised that I'll always protect you, I'll never let anything hurt you." I repeated my promise to him, " And we promise each other to never leave one other. Right?"

" Right." Donnie smiled warmly at me. While his smile was convincing, his eyes weren't. Something deep within them was concerning me. Mixed emotions. Concern, worry, and...guilt? Why was Donnie feeling guilty.

I was about to ask Donnie what was wrong, if there was something bothering him, but that's when one of our cell phones rang. Interrupting mine and Donnie's little moment, I slipped my T-phone out of the back of my pants, but it was silent. That's when Donnie got out his T-phone from his shoulder bag. With a quick press of a button, he answered it.

" Hello?"

" _Hey Donnie." _I heard Mikey's voice on the other line.

" Uh, hey, what's up?" Donnie wondered with a quick glance towards me.

" _Right yeah, um. Master Splinter wants you and Taylor home pronto." _

" Oh, okay. We'll be back soon." With those last words, Donnie hung up and placed his T-phone back inside the bag.

" I'm guessing we have to go back to the lair." I hypothesized and stood up. I stuck out my hand to help Donnie up and sure enough he took it.

" Yeah...too bad though. I was having fun." As Donnie spoke, a red glow appeared on his cheeks.

" Me too." I told him while smiling sweetly, "We should do it again sometime."

" Yeah." Donnie laughed, "We haven't gone on a date for a while now."

" True, but when would have had the time? You know with..." My voice trailed off as I didn't finished my sentence. I was going say with him losing his memory and all, but decided to keep quiet at the last moment.

" Yeah..." Donnie knew exactly what I was going to say, "And now we have the final battle to train for. How 'bout as soon as we're well enough after the battle, we'll go out. You know, assuming we'll get injuries in need of healing."

" It's a deal. But it won't be too long after the battle because with all the ingredients you got today, we'll have a bunch of healing gel." I reasoned. It was true, by the end, we'll have enough healing gel to heal everyone...hopefully.

" Thanks for coming with me by the way. It was nice to have some company." Donnie thanked me and wrapped his arm around my waist as he went in for a kiss. I kissed him back before we started heading home towards our secret lair.

* * *

" We're here!" I announced as Donnie and I walked into the lair. Donnie ran for his lab to put his shoulder bag away and returned within seconds. Just in time to join me, along with everyone else, on the couch.

As I looked around the scene, I seen that everyone was here. Raph, swollen nose Lily, John, Mikey, Karai and even Garret was here. And Master Splinter was standing right in front of us, the only person that was missing, was Leo.

" Now that we're all here." Splinter began and shot a stern glance at me and Donnie. We stayed out later then we were suppose too, "I have an announcement to make."

" What is it, Sensei?" Mikey asked with curiosity practically dripping from his mouth.

" We've all known Garret for quite some time now, and he has given us valid information." Splinter continued, "I believe it is only fair to train him as a ninja."

All of our mouths dropped open at Splinter's news, including Garret's.

" Hold on. We're gonna train this scrawny guy as a ninja. I mean Sensei, isn't one scrawny enough?" Raph pointed out, though not a very good point.

" Hey!" Donnie shouted and leaned forward so he could see Raph. We all knew that Raph was referring to Donnie when he said a scrawny one. That was a well known nickname for Donnie given by Raph. Considering that Raph thinks Donnie is too thin.

" Raphael!" Splinter scolded his son, "We are short of ninja as is, we need as much help as we can get. No matter how large or small. And if he wishes," Splinter directed his attention to Garret, "Garret may train with us as a ninja."

All of our eyes turned to the red head who was shrinking down in his seat.

" I-uh, I guess so." Garret spoke softly and shyly. His shaggy red hair hung in front of his eyes, but that did not hide his nervousness.

" Awesome bro! Now we can train together!" Mikey cheered excitedly and wrapped Garret in a tight hug. The red hair boy and the orange masked turtle had grown rather close over the past few weeks. It was nice to see Mikey have a friend.

" Y-yeah. Awesome." Garret stuttered a response as he struggled for breath.

" Now that I have said what I needed, Donatello, may I have a word with you." Splinter asked, even though there was no need too. We all know to never argue with Splinter.

" Uh, sure Sensei." Donnie spoke with confusion, wondering what he had done. I tried to think back, and as far as I know, Donnie didn't do anything wrong. What could this be about?

But none the less, Donnie got up and followed Splinter to the dojo. When they were out of sight, our attention went back to Garret, who just managed to wiggle out of Mikey's death grip.

" I can't wait to show you all my moves. Oh! And I wonder what weapon you'll get!" Mikey ranted out excitedly.

" Hm, I wonder what weapon I'll get..." Lily thought out loud to herself. The conversation became a blur to me as tuned out. All my thoughts and focus was on Donnie. My gaze was fixed on the dojo, wondering what was going on in there. _Was Donnie in trouble? Why did Sensei want to talk with him? What happened? What are they talking about in there. _With all theses questions swirling in my head, I decided that a glass of water might help clear my thoughts. So without a word to the others, I got up and made my way to the kitchen.

I got a glass from the cupboard and when I turned around, I found John standing behind me. He had an expectant look upon his face, he looked as if he wanted something.

" Hey John." I greeted him and smiled.

" Hi Taylor, c-can I asked you something?" John wondered, his green eyes round and looking a bit nervous.

" Sure, what's up?" I asked and jumped up on the counter to take a seat. I let my legs dangle in the air as I swung them back and forth.

" W-well, I...um-I uh..." John stuttered, looking down at the ground. When he did glance up at me, he seen a confused look upon my face as I was cocking an eyebrow, "I really wanna ask out Karai but I don't know how to do it." John spat out quickly, I barely understood what he had said.

But luckily, I did understand. It was about time that John asked out Karai, I mean he liked her from the moment he saw her. I figured John and Karai would make a great couple since Karai, she's tough and loves to be in charge. And John, he's on the weaker side you could say, and wouldn't mind handing over 'the pants' to Karai. Which I'm sure she'll be happy to hear.

" It's about time you asked her out." I huffed kindly.

" Hey! What's that suppose to mean?" John somewhat shouted, but not loud enough for anyone in the living room to hear.

" You liked her for the longest time." I reminded him, "So, how ya gonna do it?"

" That's the things...I don't know. That's why I came to you for help. If you were a girl, how would you want to be asked out?" John wondered, not realizing what he had just said.

" John?"

" Yeah?"

" I _am_ a girl." I told him flatly, although on the inside I was laughing.

" Oh right." John gave his head a shake, "I meant if you were Karai."

" Well, if I were Karai. I would want to be alone when you ask me." I began to explain. I told John that I don't think Karai would want for him to go right up and ask 'do you want to go with me.' So I suggested asking to hang out, or go to a movie or something, hoping she'll get the memo.

" I suppose that makes sense..." John paused and thought it over, "Thanks Taylor."

" No problem John." I told him with a smile. With that, John jumped up on the counter beside me.

" So what's up with you?" John asked kindly with warmth in his eyes. John and I haven't talked just him and I for a while, so it was nice to have this little moment with him.

" You mean besides my friends risking their lives to train as ninjas just so they can fight beside me in the final battle, nothing much." I shrugged jokingly with an affectionate little shove to John.

" Yeah, sorry 'bout that." John laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his head, " Just, Lily and I weren't gonna sit around watching you guys fight for your lives alone. Plus now we have Garret, he's a pretty cool dude."

" Sure, he's alright." I agreed hastily. It's not that I have anything against Garret, I could actually see us becoming good friends, it's just a little weird since my parents wanted me to date him.

" What ya mean?" John wondered and tilted his head.

" Since my parents wanted me to be with Garret instead of Donnie...it's just a little...awkward." I told him feeling a bit embarrassed.

" Okay, I can see why you think that. So, how are things with you and Donnie?" John changed the subject then reached behind him and got out a bag of chips. He opened it and began munching, though it was close to supper time.

I didn't answer John right away. What was he expecting me to say? Things are good, with problems here and there. Like all of Donnie's fears, and all of mine. The struggles Donnie's going through, having to deal with Shredder. And what about Midgar, things weren't to good then, but Midgar's out of our lives. So there's no need to worry about that anymore.

" Things are...good." I nodded my head as I answered after moments of silences past. I never knew I could think so much about one simple question.

" Good? Like how good?" John urged on, pushing forward. It was like he was craving more details, " Are you happy with him."

I let out a soft laugh before I responded, " Happier then I ever been...why do you ask?"

" I dunno, I want to make sure my friend is happy." John smiled and brought me close to him for a hug. I snuggled up against him and rested my head against his shoulder.

" Don't worry, I'm in good hands." I told him. I know that Donnie takes good care of me, he loves me with all his heart. He told me so earlier today.

" I know, Donnie's awesome isn't he." John chuckled and rubbed my arm.

" Yup. Donnie's diffidently-" I began but got interrupted.

" Taylor!" I heard Donnie's voice call my name as he came zooming in the kitchen, swinging off the side of the door frame, " I need-" Donnie stopped when he saw John sitting next to me, " Oh, hey John. Can I talk to Taylor for a moment?"

" Yeah sure." John more then willing agreed and jumped off the counter. He said goodbye to me and thanked me for the talk before returning to the living room. Returning to Karai.

" What's up?" I asked and got down from the counter top. Donnie seemed genuinely worried and nervous. What had he and Splinter talked about?

" I need to tell you something, in my lab." Donnie implied and lead me to his lab. We walked out of the kitchen and quickly ran through the living room, hoping no one saw us. Then Donnie slid his giant metal doors open and closed them behind him once I entered.

" Is everything okay?" I asked in a panic. The look in Donnie's brown eyes was scaring me a little, it was almost haunting.

" No, it's not okay." Donnie shook his violently. He began pacing back and forth, mumbling to himself.

" What's going on?" I wondered. There was something bothering him, something that Donnie had to tell me.

" I-I'm just..." Donnie hesitated as he made his way over to his desk and plopped himself down in his chair. Donnie set his elbow on his desk and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and finger, "I'm just so stupid."

" Donnie, believe me, you're not stupid." I reassured him. The question of what Donnie was going to tell me still whirled in my mind like howling winds.

" I should have realized it before." Donnie continued to blame himself...for something.

" Should have realized what?!"

Donnie then looked up at me with round sad eyes, " That Leo was being haunted by Midgar."

* * *

**Umm...not much to say here, this chapter was pretty fluffy...at least until the ending. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon, but until then, hope you enjoyed and please review! :)**


	21. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

It couldn't be. No, it wasn't possible. Did I even hear Donnie right? I'm sure of it. I did hear him correctly. But...no...

"T-that's not possible. Only you and I knew about Midgar." I surmised.

"That's what I thought too." Donnie confirmed, "But in the dojo. Splinter explained everything to me. The real reason why Leo left."

Getting deeply intrigued, I got up on Donnie's desk and prepared myself to listen. My question was finally about to be answered. But before talking, Donnie took a deep breath in, implying that it was going to be a long story.

"Remember all those weeks when Leo seemed off, seemed bad tempered?"

"Yeah. Was that Midgar's doing?" I asked. That would make sense if it was, being the leader, Leo has learned to control his temper really well.

"No, that was all Leo, he was just so upset about Karai. He...he really loved her." Donnie explained, "Love has a tendency to drive people mad. Which is what happened to Leo. Knowing the fact that he could never be with Karai, pushed him to his limits. I couldn't imagine what it's like not having you. So, that's when Leo and Splinter started talking."

"Yeah I remember that. They would talk in the dojo for hours on end." I added in before Donnie continued.

"That's when things started getting weird. Leo would talk about his shadowed figure. Someone who would talk with him, listen to him, but drive him crazy. He described it as his inner voice."

"Midgar..." I whispered to myself. Remembering when I called Midgar my 'inner voice.' Little did I know that it's actually a demon like creature trying to get to Donnie. Death...it's complicated.

"Splinter also noticed a difference between my behaviour as well. So he asked me if I knew anything about it." Donnie stated. Raising the question...

"What did you tell him?"

"I told Splinter that I didn't know." Donnie confessed. If there was one thing you never do, it's lie to Splinter.

"So, when did Midgar 'control' Leo?" I pondered this question. Trying to think back at any super unusual non Leo factors.

"I'm not sure when it started, but remember when Leo and I were sparring?" Donnie recalled, "After I flipped him to the ground, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes. And when he kicked the back of my leg, I definitely knew something was up. So I think Midgar was possessing Leo then."

"Oh gosh. How did we not realize this before?" I questioned, rubbing my hands over my eyes. How could we have been so blind?

"I know! And you'll never believe this." Donnie continued. Just when I thought the bad news was done, there was about to be more, "Leo was the one who asked to be sent away."

"What?!" I completely flipped out. Why would Leo do that? I can't even begin to imagine what was going to Leo's head.

"Yeah. Leo thought he was going crazy, and needed to clear his head."

"So...Splinter lied to us?" I concluded. The more I thought about it, the weirder it got.

"Well not exactly. He did say that Leo's thoughts weren't in the right place. So it's technically not lying." Donnie acknowledged. He had a point. Splinter technically didn't lie, he just didn't tell the whole truth. Mostly likely because Leo convinced him not to.

"But...why? Why would Midgar haunt Leo?" I was still caught up in this shocking news, not able to let it go.

"Same reason he...uh, she, started haunting you. To get to me." Donnie explained then rolled himself in his chair over to his book shelf in the corner. He rolled back over to me a moment or two later with a mystical creature book in his hands.

Donnie flipped through the pages rather quickly, almost like he memorized the entire thing.

"What are you doing." I asked, leaning over so I could see the book better.

"Ha." Donnie spoke and stopped when he came to the page about demons, "It says here that a demon is not actually permitted to kill a person nor living thing in the human world. It'd be breaking their 'code.' But, possessing another body from the human world, can go against this rule."

"So, by possessing Leo, Midgar was able to harm you." I confirmed, but all of this was still was not making sense.

"Yes, but Midgar harmed you no problem. By touching your shoulder, remember?" Donnie pointed out, all this new information obviously confused him too.

"Yeah, I remember. M-maybe Midgar can't harm you because..." I had trouble finishing my sentence.

"Because I'm the one who she haunts originally?" Donnie guessed, and it made sense.

"Yeah. And that's why she's trying to either get someone to kill you, or you kill yourself. Or...at least was." I observed. We didn't have to fret about Midgar now, and I'm thankful for that, "But, is she still haunting Leo?"

" I don't know." Donnie sighed heavily, annoyed with himself, "If Midgar was still in my life, I might be able to get it out of her."

"Donnie, don't blame yourself." I comforted him, sensing that he thought it was his fault.

" How can I not? Midgar was in our life because of me."

"No." I corrected him, "Midgar was in our lives because of Shredder. You did nothing wrong. The only reason why Midgar possessed Leo in the first place was to get to you. But no that Leo is gone, there's no reason. Right?"

Donnie looked at me with a side smile, " Yeah. You're right, thanks Taylor."

"Hey, what are girlfriends for?" I shrugged happily as I sat down on Donnie's lap and kissed his cheek.

After a moment of silence, Donnie and I decided to start working on the inventions. He said that I could help him and that I was handy to have in the lab. We needed to rebuild a lot of stuff. Donnie is still working on the stealth bike, but he also wants to rebuild the Shellraser and Metalhead. Plus Donnie also wants to upgrade the wings he built. On top of all of that, Donnie needs to make lots of his healing cream.

"So if we start with the cream, it should be ready in two days. Once we finish that, we can continue working on the stealth bike." Donnie noted as he began searching through his shoulder bag for all the ingredients we got from the junkyard.

I, on the other hand, was searching through Donnie's big cabinet for all the empty containers he has. So we have things to put the healing gel in. I also got out a few beakers, stirring sticks, and paper towel to clean up any mess.

"Ready?" I asked as I set the stuff I had on Donnie's lab table. Donnie has a corner desk in his lab, half of it is where he usually does all his research and collect data. But the other half, is where he does all of his experiments.

"Yup. I got all the ingredients." Donnie informed and laid the ingredients neatly on the table.

First, we set up a few pieces of paper towel in case we spill anything. Next, Donnie opened each jar that held an ingredient in them, he set them in order of which we'll use them. Next he took a beaker and a stirring stick and set them in front of him. I pulled up a chair and sat next to Donnie. I would have sat on the desk, but that's dangerous when doing the experiment since some of these substances can burn flesh.

"Okay, hand me the Polymyxin B please." Donnie asked politely as he stuck out his hand. I got the jar labelled Polymyxin B and gave it to the purple clad turtle beside me. Donnie took a teaspoon and dunk it in the jar. Being careful not to spill the delicate liquid, Donnie carefully poured it into the glass beaker, "Okay now hand me the sulfate."

"Here you go." I picked up the jar with the white-ish powder in it. Donnie then picked up a spoon labelled 'a pinch' and put it in the sulfate. He tapped the spoon against the side of the jar before putting the continent in the beaker. He quickly picked up the glass stirring stick and swished it in the beaker before the sulfate could set.

For the next two hours, this is what Donnie and I did. Once we finished putting all the ingredients in one beaker and pouring it out into a jar, we would start with a second and a third one. Donnie would name the ingredients he needed and I would hand him them. But he even let me make a small jar of healing cream all by myself. And in the end, we made about five jars of healing gel.

Donnie and I were about to get started on another project, that was until we heard the lab doors slide open. We turned around to see who it was and found Raph standing in the door way peaking half his body inside the lab.

"Yo Donnie, Taylor! Bed time!" Raph called from across the room.

"Aww." Donnie and I complained simultaneously. Neither one of us wanted to leave the lab. Now I understand why Donnie spends so much time in here, and in the junkyard. It's really fun, and you loose track of time really easily.

"Can we finish what we're working on?" I asked, lying. Donnie and I were going to start a new project, but if I told Raph that, he would never let us stay.

"No. Bed, now." Raph grumbled sternly. It's usually Leo who comes to get Donnie out of his lab, but it never really works. Donnie usually asked for a few more minutes and Leo grants him some, then hours later Leo comes back and finds Donnie asleep in his lab. That's when Leo picks up Donnie and carries him to his room. But Raph was not budging.

"C'mon Raph. I just need a little more time." Donnie begged, his brown eyes growing round.

"No, it's almost 11' O'clock. You need to go to bed." Raph repeated more crossly this time. But I could still see softness in his bright green eyes. While always acting mean and tough, Raph always leaves a soft spot for his brothers.

"Fine." Donnie huffed, "I'll be out soon."

Raph nodded his head in satisfaction and left the lab. Closing the doors behind him.

"You're not gonna be out soon, are you?" I wondered, cocking an eyebrow at Donnie.

"Hehe, nope." Donnie chuckled mischievously, "But, you're gonna go to bed."

"What? Why? How come you get to stay up?" I argued. I wanted to keep working here, not go to sleep.

"Because all I'm going to do is clean up. Now bed." This time Donnie was being the stern one. Feeling like a little kid, I sighed and marched out of the lab. I seen Raph cleaning up the living room, but other then that, no one was awake.

Not saying a word, I walked to my room and got into bed. It took a little while, but I finally dozed off to sleep.

* * *

I blinked open my eyes. I was surprised that no harsh daylight blinded them, instead, they were met with darkness. I rolled over in my bed and glanced at my clock. Turns out it's three in the morning.

"Ugghhh." I growled and tried to go back to sleep. But what felt like hours of tossing and turning, but only being minutes, I decided to get up and get a glass of water.

I walked out of my room groggily. Each step I took felt like my feet were getting heavier and heavier. When I managed to get to the living room, I felt wide awake when I seen Raph sitting on the couch. I immediately forgot about the glass of water and walked over to him.

"Raph? What are you doing up?" I asked with a whisper.

"He's not gonna come out of there is he?" Raph almost laughed at his response. I knew exactly what he meant. Raph stayed up all night, waiting for Donnie to come out of his lab. Raph stayed awake to make sure that Donnie was going to go to bed.

"Most likely not." I told him with a slight smile. Knowing Donnie, he be in there all night long.

"C'mon, let's go get him." Raph sighed, but I could detect slight happiness in his voice.

I followed Raph to Donnie's lab and into it as he opened the doors. Inside, I seen Donnie asleep on the floor. His head was rested on the seat of the stealth bike and he held a wrench in his hand.

"Donnie." Raph called to his younger brother as he made his way over to him and knelt down.

Donnie shakily lifted up his head, his eyes were only half open and he was still half asleep.

"Huh?" Donnie managed to mumble.

"C'mon, bed time." Raph spoke harshly but his eyes were caring, "You were suppose to be in bed hours ago."

"But... I finished...stealth...bike." Donnie murmured, unable to form whole sentences.

"You could of finished the stealth bike tomorrow. So no lab, okay?" Raph told Donnie and picked him up in his arms. This moment reminded me a lot of Donnie and Leo. I thought it was sweet how Raph was trying to fill in for their oldest brother.

"hmm, okay." Donnie responded sleepily, not realizing that Raph just told him that he wasn't aloud in the lab tomorrow. Instead, Donnie just let Raph hold him, sleeping in the comfort of a big brother's grasp.

I smiled and opened the lab door for Raph. As he passed by me, Raph whispered a thanks and I closed the door behind us. He carried Donnie to his room and as we passed by my room, I hushed a goodnight to Donnie and Raph before walking in and going back to sleep.

It was Saturday morning, and our day off from the constant training. Everyone was up except for Donnie, even Lily, John and Garret were here. Mikey shifted around constantly on the couch with his tongue out as he swished his controller around. He, Garret, John and Lily were all playing a video game. And so far Lily was winning, even with her hair hanging over one of her eyes.

Raph sat next to Lily as always, with Roger on his lap. He was feeding his pet turtle a cabbage leaf for breakfast. Karai was on the other side of Raph, she was staring at the video game intensely, to involved in watching the action going on to care about anything around her.

I sat beside John, who was next to Garret, who sat in between John and Lily. His shaggy red hair shook back and forth as he continuously tried to flip it out of his face. I laughed a little at his failed attempts. Garret, over the past weeks, almost a month that we've known him, became close friends with each one of us. But mostly Mikey, he and the orange masked turtle had a lot in common.

I was quietly reading one of my books, only glancing up a few times to see what was going on. I would often get distracted by the constant sound of the clicking buttons of the controllers or the gun sounds coming from the television where the video game was displayed.

"Well look who's up." Raph noted sarcastically as Donnie walked into and rubbed the sleep from his reddish-brown eyes.

"What time is it?" Donnie spoke through his yawn and stretched his arms high in the air.

"9:32." I responded with a quick glance at my Harley-Davidson themed watch.

"Whoa." Donnie gasped as his eyes went wide. Donnie never, ever sleeps in. No matter how late he stays up, the genius turtle is usually the first one up.

"Yeah, guess you should'a listened to me when I told you to go to bed." Raph huffed, but with a hint of amusement.

"Oh yeah! My lab!" Donnie exclaimed as he ran towards his sanctuary.

"Donnie, wait!" Raph shouted and Donnie stopped dead in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder in curiosity, wondering what his big brother could possibly want, "No lab. Remember?"

"What are you talking about?" Donnie, now fully facing Raph from a distances away, stared at him in disbelief.

"You over stayed your lab time, that means no lab for the next day. That's the rules." Raph reminded his second youngest brother of Sensei's rules.

"Yeah but-" Donnie began but got interrupted my Splinter who just emerged from the dojo and into the living area.

"Donatello, I believe Raphael is correct. Those are the rules."

"But Sensei, I need to work on my inventions. So they'll be ready for battle." Donnie whined, though he did have a point.

"Your inventions can wait for one day." Splinter's tone grew a bit more stern, warning Donnie not to argue.

"Fine." Donnie sighed, "But can I at least go back to the old lair and get Metalhead? I want to recreate him."

"You may." Splinter nodded as he gave his approval.

"Thanks Sensei!" Donnie cheered then faced me, "Wanna come?"

"Sure." I shrugged and set my book aside. I had nothing better to do this morning. Plus, I always love spending quality time with Donnie, "Bye guys." I waved goodbye as I followed Donnie out of the lair.

"So, when did Raph tell me no lab?" Donnie asked curiously, starting the conversation immediately.

"When you stayed up till 3:00am." I told flatly yet with a joking tone to my voice. Donnie always has a tendency to stay up late working on his latest inventions.

Donnie chuckled nervously in response, "Hehe, whoops."

"Whoops is right." I agreed and nudged Donnie affectionately.

After a good 20 minute walk, Donnie and I finally reached the old lair. It was just as we left it all those years ago. Smashed bricks and glass were still scattered over the floor. The couch was torn and TV broken. It was really damp in here so there was mold growing along the walls and a few sewer rats scurried across the floor.

"Never thought I'd see the lair like this." Donnie huffed as he stared at the sight before him. There was still that big whole in the wall where Shredder and the krang had burst through. But my eyes kept resting on the couch. I still remember the exact spot where Donnie and myself were sitting. I remember my head throbbing yet, I couldn't help but think how cute Donnie was when he slept. And that was when I just barely met the turtles. Donnie had stayed up all night with me because I got a concussion.

I remember my eyes slowly drifting off to sleep, even though I wasn't suppose to sleep. Then, I remember that loud bang that made my ears ring. I remember the bricks flying through the air and scattering debris. But most of all, I remember Donnie and I standing up with a jolt and Donnie flung his arm over me, protecting me. Even back then Donnie was my protector.

I got snapped out of my thoughts when I seen Donnie start to walk towards his old lab. I quickly followed right behind him. In the old lair, Donnie had a different lab. The room was smaller and to the right of the lair and down a small hallway. Actually, Donnie's old lab, is my new room.

There was no need to open the door, since there was none. It got blown right off. So it was easy access as we walked in. The room was dark, all the lights were smashed and broken glass was everywhere. In the back corner, there was a pile of broken BO-staffs laid up against the wall. I once used one of those broken staffs to fight off a krang.

I walked towards the back of the room, near the BO-staffs. I rang my fingers against the splintering wood, savouring the memory. But something had caught my eye. Just a few feet away, on the floor was a very faint stain. I crouched down and seen that the faint stain was blood. That's when I recalled that I got injured fighting that krang bot. I got a piece of glass stuck in my leg as I fell to the floor. This must of been where I fell.

"Hey Taylor?" Donnie called out to me and I jumped up from the ground like a meerkat.

"Yeah?"

"Wanna give me a hand with this?" Donnie wondered and pointed to a dented robot by his lab desk. That dented robot was Donnie's old invention Metalhead.

"Sure." I nodded and rushed towards him. On the count of three, both Donnie and I began to lift up metalhead. He was heavier then I expected him to be. For about a four foot high piece of metal, he sure weighed a lot.

We got as far as the living room before we had to put metalhead down. Within a few steps, Donnie and I were already tired out.

"T-this, isn't...working." Donnie panted, his back arched with his hands on his knees.

"I've...noticed..." I breathed back, exhaling as I spoke. Making my voice soft and winded. Donnie and I began looking around the lair for something to help us. That's when I seen something out of the corner of my eye. I glanced back at Donnie and he noticed it too. We gave each other a smile, knowing that we were thinking the exact same thing.

"Shopping cart?" Donnie questioned, just to make sure our ideas were similar.

"Yup." I nodded in satisfaction and went to get the cart. Don't ask me how, but sometimes broken down old shopping carts end up in the sewers. And inside the lair.

I brought it over to Donnie within a few seconds and we picked up metalhead with a mighty heave. We set the little damaged robot inside the cart and started heading back towards the lair, our new lair. Donnie and I were racing down the tunnels; I sat inside the cart, holding metalhead up. Donnie was pushing the cart, one foot was placed on the bar that connected to the wheels, and the other was pushing off the ground. We were zooming around corners, going as fast as we could possibly go with a robot and a girl in the cart.

I glanced back at Donnie, his gaze was fixed on the road ahead. Donnie wore a big goofy smile upon his face that showed is missing tooth. I could see adrenaline and amusement glowing in his chestnut eyes. His mouth was parted in laughter. I giggled at Donnie's laugh, he had the cutest laugh I've ever heard. I started to laugh with Donnie and turned my head back around to focus on the path in front of me. I had one arm on metalhead and the other griped to the front of the cart. The wind whipped through my hair, and the cool breeze felt nice. And I laughed with Donnie and rode in the cart all the way back to the lair.

* * *

"So what's next on our list?" I asked Donnie as I finished washing the last dish. It was just after lunch and it was mine and Donnie's turn to do the dishes, and Raph and Lily's turn to tidy up the kitchen. Which they were doing so right now.

"I want to go to the old subway station." Donnie told me as he passed the towel over the wet plate that I handed him.

Like where Leather head use to live?" Raph piped up from behind us. He had the dust pan in his hand and waited for us to move away from the sink, so he could dump the dirt in the garbage, which were situated underneath the sink.

"Yeah. There was a bunch of old subway carts there." Donnie spoke and put the last plate away before wiping his hands off on the towel. I was wiping down the dinner table with the dish cloth.

"Oh, to rebuild the Shellracer thingy right?" Lily wondering. She was drying off the table as I washed it. And her broken nose was no longer swollen, just a little red. But it still had a stripe of bandage on it.

"Shellraser. And yes." Donnie corrected.

"Cool! Can we come?" Lily asked and wrapped her arms around Raph's neck, who had made his way over to his girlfriend.

"Sure." Donnie shrugged, "Why not?"

"Yeah! I'll be fun." I declared. I was happy that Raph and Lily would tag along, I find since now that they're together, I don't spend as much time with Lily as I use too. Or Raph. But now I can spend time with them together.

"Uh..." Raph groaned. I could tell all he wanted to do was relax, Saturday is his only day off after all.

"C'mon, pwease Raphie?" Lily begged and did her 'puppy' eyes. Lily was now the only one who was allowed to call Raph, Raphie.

"...fine." Raph agreed and gave in. He could never resist Lily's big blue puppy eyes.

Lily smiled ear to ear at the red masked turtle and cheered, "Yay! This works out perfectly, since John and Garret went off training with Splinter."

"Why aren't you training?" Donnie wondered, leaning up against the counter.

"Cause Splinter wanted to work on John and Garret's back flips, he said mine were already perfect." Lily explained with pride practically dripping from her mouth.

"Really?" Raph cocked an eyebrow, "Show me."

"Okay! Stand back." Lily backed away a few steps so she had room to flip. With a quick jump and sweep over her legs, Lily flipped backwards in the air and landed perfectly on her feet.

"Nice!" Raph congratulated her with a hug. Lily thanked him bashfully and hugged back.

Once we were all done with cleaning the kitchen, we decided to head out right away. Before we left, we asked Mikey and Karai if they wanted to join us, but they denied the offer since they were in the middle of a board game. So it was going to be just Donnie, Lily, Raph and myself on the subway car mission.

"So, anyone remember how to get there?" Raph asked flatly, his face was unamused.

"Uh... I think it's to the right..." Donnie hesitated before pointing to the right of the lair entrance.

"You...think?" Raph questioned bitterly.

"Yeah...if I remember correctly, the tunnel numbers increase to the right of the sewers and gradually decreases to the left." Donnie thought aloud and rubbed his chin in deep concentration.

"How 'bout we just pick a direction and hope for the best?" Lily suggested happily. Nothing could really get the blonde haired girl down in the dumps, she just goes with the flow and sees what happens. In a way, Lily is more like Mikey then Raph.

"Sounds good, now let's go." Raph replied impatiently and walked out of the lair and to the left. He only got about a few steps before Donnie piped up.

"Uh, Raph. It's to the right."

Raph stared narrowed eyed at his younger brother, "Right." He spat and walked back towards us. With those final words, we final started heading out.

We walked for a good hour before coming to tunnel number 180. Along the way, Donnie and Raph explained to me and Lily who Leatherhead is and how he sacrificed himself to go to dimensionX to save the turtles. Before that happened, Leatherhead was closest to Mikey and had a secret hideout in tunnel number 180, an abandoned subway station to be exact. That's where we were gonna get the body for the new Shellraser.

"Awesome! This is so cool!" Lily exclaimed and her voice echoed through the empty sewers. The station in front of us was dark. It had no light what's so ever, and barely any traces that it use to be a subway station other then the fact that it was a bunch of subway cars. There was, however, small candles around the tracks, all of them were worn down and burnt out. Clearly well used.

"Wow." Donnie breathed in awe, "The things I could make with these."

"Just pick one and let's get out of here." Raph complained and shivered as a cockroach rang past his feet, "This place gives me the creeps."

"S-sure." Donnie's voice lacked interest in what Raph was saying, he was too caught up in the scene around him, "But which one do we pick?"

"What's the difference?" Raph wondered, though he didn't really care.

From around a corner of a car, Donnie peeked around, a gasped. His mouth hung open slightly in shock.

"What's the difference?!" Donnie repeated Raph's word but with much more expression, "Well first-" He began.

"Donnie!" Raph interrupted him, "I don't really care."

At that, Donnie closed his mouth and narrowed his eyes. Raph would always do this, lead him up, thinking that someone actually took interest in what he was saying, but then always shot him down. Donnie continued his search, going in and out of each car. Lily and I began helping, searching for the right subway car. We searched for a good hour or so before Donnie finally made up his mind.

"This one." Donnie pointed to a run down old subway car, but it was the best one here.

"Seriously? This one?" Raph asked. The sight of this old car was unpleasant, and it kinda smelled. But living in a sewer for so long, I didn't really mind the smell. However I couldn't say the same for Raph.

"Yup." Donnie announced proudly and put his hands on his hips, staring admirably at the new to-be Shellraser.

"Hey, how we gonna get this back to the lair?" I wondered, I've come to realize that I had no clue. Surely we can't drive it back? By the looks of it, these tracks been dead for years.

"We're gonna push it." Donnie huffed as he shoved the subway car all by himself, it didn't budge.

"Seriously?!" Raph shouted, "Can't we just drive it back?"

"No, that's impossible." Donnie answered then continued, "The tracks are dead, there's no electricity."

"Can't you hot-wire it or something?" Lily suggested.

"No...not a subway car." Donnie answered oddly, like he didn't quite believe Lily would ask that question. It was pretty obvious that nobody could hot-wire a subway car, just sometimes the obvious blinds Lily.

"Oh, well I guess we better get pushing." She smiled and walked over to help Donnie, I followed close behind her. I heard Raph sigh heavily before he came around back and began helping us. Luckily, it was the closest subway car to the entrance, so it didn't take too long to push it out and get it going.

"This...is...gonna take...forever!" Raph growled through huffs of breath.

"Well...we...managed to...push the...Shellraser...before. So...we can do...it...again...right?" Donnie tried to encourage, though it was a bit hard to understand what he was saying. Only about ten minutes of pushing, and we were all already out of breath.

"Why is...this...so...heavy!" I complained and gave another big push. The contact of the wheels against the tracks make a horrible squealing sound. Like a cross between a baby human and a mouse that was screaming and crying. Not only that, but a few sparks would fly from time to time.

"That's it..." Lily gave one more heave before collapsing on the ground in exhaustion. The rest of us joined her within seconds.

"There has to...be a better...way." I stated, trying to regain my breath and leaned my head up against the car.

"I'm opened to ideas." Donnie announced, throwing his hands in the air.

Silence fell over us, no one spoke. We were all trying to think, think of some easier way to push this giant hunk of metal all the way back to the lair. It was gonna take at least double the time it took to get here. But in the end, no one came up with anything.

"Should we get back to it?" I wondered dreadfully. Pushing a subway car was exhausting. But, it had to be done.

"Sure." They all replied simultaneously, and with a hated tone to their voice. Like me, no one wanted to get back to pushing and heaving. But we did anyway. And I was right to say that it would take us at least double the time it took us to get there, to get back. We pushed for what felt like forever, but ended up being two hours and forty five minutes. Either way, by time we got back to the lair and placed the car in Donnie's lab, we were all worn out.

We all emerged from Donnie's lab and gave into gravity as it pulled us to the couch. Each one of us slumped down and breathed out a sigh of relief, finally we could relax.

"What took you guys so long?" Mikey wondered as he looked up from his comic book. He and Karai had finished their board game long ago and now Karai was in the kitchen cooking supper.

"You try pushing a thousand pounds worth of metal!" Raph spat and folded his arms.

"Actually Subway cars are made out of a reverently light metal." Donnie corrected then shrunk down in his seat as Raph death glared him.

It all went quiet after that, except for the sound the TV was making. The news constantly played on this television now, though it happened weeks ago, we still listened for any news on the Paris bombing. We never heard from Leo yet. No letters, no nothing. So it can be assumed that he was caught in the bombing. Hopefully he wasn't too hurt.

We couldn't go after Leo because Sensei wouldn't allow us. Besides, by time we would get to Paris, if Leo was hurt enough to need our help, he'd probably already be dead. So we decided that sitting here and hoping was the best thing we could do for him.

* * *

"You guys wanna watch a movie or something?" Lily wondered, not able to handle the silence anymore. It was after supper and all was dying down.

"I'm up for a movie." I shrugged my shoulders along with Lily's idea and everyone else nodded their heads, "Should I even bother asking what movie?"

"Nope!" Lily grinned and hoped off the couch to put Avatar in. Avatar was Lily's all time favourite movie, and anytime we wanted to watch a film, Avatar would be one of the first one's to be nominated.

"Again?" Karai questioned with annoyance, "We've seen it hundreds of times!"

"Yes, again." Lily glared at Karai and spoke firmly. She then turned her head back towards the DVD player and happily put the movie in. She made her way back over to the couch and snuggled up with Raph. Who put his arm around her.

All was going well. I was cuddling close with Donnie, and Lily to Raph. John and Garret returned form the dojo and watched the movie with us. It was a nice moment, having all of us together...well...almost all of us. Everyone could almost feel Leo's presence missing, this family wasn't complete without our leader. But other then that, every thing was going good, that was until Donnie asked...

"Hey guys. Did you hear that?"

We all turned our heads curiously in Donnie's direction.

"Hear...what?" Mikey wondered, looking at his brother like he was insane.

"That...that creaking noise." Donnie answered and shut his eyes to concentrate. We all did the same, trying to hear what Donnie was hearing.

_Creek._

"Hey, I heard it!" I announced, opening my eyes and looking around the room frantically. Where did that noise come from?

"Yeah...yeah I heard it too." Raph mumbled, deep in concentration.

_Creek._

"There!" Donnie hoped up off the couch and pointed towards the lair's entrance. But nothing was there.

"Hm, what's going on?" Karai thought out loud, she too had stood up along with Raph and myself.

"I don't hear any-" John began but stopped mid sentence when a foot bot jumped down from the ceiling's pipes and landed in front of us. Then another and another jumped down. More and more foot bots just kept coming.

"These guys again!" Donnie complained and took out his BO-staff.

"I haven't seen foot bots in months!" Raph, though was frustrated, spoke rather fondly. Like he was glad to have a little action in his life. By feeling so, Raph took out his twin sai's and spun them around in his hands. Mikey did the same but with his nun-chucks and Karai drew out her single katana.

"Booyakasha!" Mikey yelled and was the first to jump into battle. With the constant threat of Shredder and the krang, they're always trying to find out where the secret lair is. So we have to be ready for any thing, even a surprise foot bot attack.

There was a foot bot for everyone. Even Lily, Garret and John, but they weren't to good at fighting yet. So Lily stuck by Raph's side, helping him whenever she can, and John and Garret did the same thing but with everyone.

Once I took down my foot bot with a few punches and a neat sweep of my leg. It was down on the floor and that's when I ran to my room. I quickly got my Hanbo and ran back to the living room, where the fighting was going on. By time I got there, even more foot bots arrived and now even Splinter was fighting with us.

I didn't get more then three steps into the living room when I seen a foot bot about to attack Mikey from behind. Taking the first chance I got, I threw my weapon half way across the room, knocking the foot bot down.

Mikey turned around and smiled at me, "Thanks Tay-tot!" Mikey used one of the many nicknames he's given me.

I ran towards the fight scene with a smile back to Mikey. I yanked my Hanbo out of the foot's head, causing it to spark. With a few more hits, the foot bot was out and broken. I immediately started fighting another one.

"Don't let them escape guys!" Donnie shouted from some where within this fighting mess, "They're probably taking mental photographs of our lair! If one of them escapes, Shredder will know where we live!"

"Bash the bots and don't let them escape, got it!" Raph noted and stabbed a bot directly in the eyes with his sai.

The fighting didn't last to long after that. Normally the foot are a little bit of a challenge, especially foot bots since they can detect your fighting style. But this almost seemed too easy. I don't know if it's all the extract training we've been doing or what, but what ever it is, it seems to be working.

After a few more minutes, the foot bots were defeated. Only Karai and Mikey were finishing up the last of them. With a swift blow of his nun-chuck, Mikey had defeated his bot.

"Karai! Look out!" John yelled for another foot bot had appeared and was about to land a forceful blow on the kunoichi. But acting quickly, John jumped on the bot. He wrapped his legs around the bots waist, causing it to lose it's focus and stumble a little. Acting out of rage, John grabbed a hold of the foot bot's head and viciously snapped it's neck. The bot sparked like crazy, sending little bits of white flames flying, but John didn't budge. He death gripped that head and used all of his force to break it's neck even more and eventually, tore it's head clean off it's body. The foot bot's body collapsed on the ground and John landed neatly on his feet.

"John!" Karai screamed the name of her saviour and wrapped her arms around his neck. This was so unlike Karai, usually she's hard and cold. Rarely ever shows emotion. But, could she possibly have feelings for John?

"Mr. Walker." Splinter spoke as Karai stopped hugging John, "Thank you for saving my daughter."

"Oh uh.." John blushed, "it...it was nothing."

"Nothing! You ripped it's head straight off it's body!" Garret exclaimed, hands waving frantically.

"Yeah dude, that was sick!" Mikey agreed and began praising John, "But uh...I think the bot got you or something." Mikey pointed to his own cheek.

"Uh?" John passed his fingers over his cheek then flinched away. Turns out the sparks had burned John's face. But luckily it wasn't anything to serious.

"What are we gonna do we all these foot bot bodies?" Raph questioned and looked around the room. Broken robots was spread out through out the living area. Disembodied arms, legs, and heads were every where. It was gonna take forever to clean up.

"I could use the parts." Donnie piped up. He was more then happy to volunteer to take care of the robot bodies. Knowing Donnie, he would turn them into neat gadgets.

"Well that's one problem solved." Mikey noted, "But how did they get here in the first place?"

We all exchanged a glance and a shrug. That is, all except Donnie.

"Well it's not the first time foot bots found their way into our lair." Donnie reminded us, "But it does seem odd on how easy they were to defeat."

_So I'm not the only one who noticed it!_ I thought to myself. Did anyone else?

"Yeah bro. Usually their all like 'bang bang bang!' But today they were only like, 'pew pew pew.' It was weird." Mikey exasperated, using sound effects and everything.

The room erupted in deep conversations. We were all talking about how and what the foot bots were doing here. Naturally we could all assume that they wanted to find our location and report back to Shredder.

"This could only mean that he's planning to strike soon." Donnie confirmed.

"But that doesn't make sense." Garret countered, all eyes turned on him, "From what I over heard, we still have a few months."

"Is there any chance that Shredder saw you and lied?" Lily suggested kindly.

"No way." This time is was Karai arguing back, "I've seen Garret, and he's really good."

"Look, whatever the reason may be, Shredder is going to attack no matter what. And there's no telling how much time we have left. So we need to get our act together and get something done." Raph encouraged. He was right, we would need to attack first.

"But what about Leo?" Mikey piped up, "We're not really gonna attack Shredder without him, right?"

"We may not have a choice, Mikey." Donnie told his little brother sadly.

"My students." Splinter joined in on the conversation, "Raphael is right in saying we need to 'get things done' but in order to do so, we need a good night's rest."

We all nodded in agreement to our Sensei. It's been a long day, and I know Donnie, Raph, Lily and myself are all tired. Pushing a giant subway car is exhausting. So, with a few goodbyes to Lily, John and Garret, we all decided to get some rest and head off to bed.

"John wait." Karai called out and rang up to John before he left the lair, "I'll walk you home."

John's face went bright as he stuttered his response, "Uh, sh-sure."

Karai smiled in return and walked out of the lair. I exchanged glances with everyone in the room. _Do they all know about John and Karai?_ I thought to myself before shrugging it off and heading off to bed with everyone else.

I got my PJ's on and slipped myself under my covers. But, like usual, sleep didn't come easy to me. My mind was buzzing with all my thoughts and worries.

_Everything is gonna change tomorrow. _I began to think, _But it's not like we're actually attacking Shredder tomorrow. We're just, 'getting started.'...what does that even mean? We already starting training for the fight, what else can we do? Well...I guess Donnie was lots of work to do in his lab, and we still need to find more info on Shredder and his plans. Garret's already given us valid information, he's really useful to this team. _

_What's gonna happen after? After Shredder's...gone. Is this a fight to the death? Sure sounds like one. We did decide that Shredder needs to be taken care of once and for all. It's either our lives or his right? _

At this point, I rolled over in my bed. Getting uncomfortable from my previous position. Then I continued to wonder,

_What if we don't make it out alive? What if one of us dies?...what if Donnie dies? I can't lose him again. No. I won't let that happen, I promised him I would protect him. I promised him forever. I will keep him safe, no matter what. _

I side in frustration and rolled on my back, _But what can I do? Donnie's the better ninja. He has 17 years of experience, or in turtle years,15. But me? I have what? Two, three years now? Not even. How can I protect Donnie? What if I can't? I would, but what if I can't? _

I shook my head, trying to think of something else. _I hope Leo's gonna be back soon. Even though he's been gone for only a month now. I hope he's alright. I mean, what are the odds of him being caught in that Paris bombing? Not very high...right? C'mon Taylor, think happy thoughts. _

_We're finally gonna end our Shredder problem. Oh great...back to this. But, tomorrow is when it all changes. Tomorrow is when we really start planning what to do. We're gonna get all the gear, we're gonna find out Shredder's plans and beat him ahead of time. Tomorrow, is when we make a change. Tomorrow is when we're finally gonna get started. _

* * *

**Uhhh, yeah. This is only a filler chapter...sorta. Everything will make more sense later on, in the next chapter or so. Either way, I hope you enjoyed it and please review! :)**

**Ps: Sorry for the late update. ^/^**


	22. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Days passed. Weeks passed. And now months passed. And all through out those months, we've been non-stop working. Training has taken over our lives. When we get some free time, we're either out on patrol, or planning a game strategy. But I must say, a lot has come from that. All that training and planning has payed off. We've discovered a lot of useful information.

We kept spying on Shredder, and discovered a few more bits and pieces about his master plan to take us out. However we still don't have all the pieces of the puzzle, so it's still a bit hasty. We know for certain Shredder wants to attack some time this month, so we are running out of time. Garret found out us that Shredder for sure is planning to hold the attack on central park. Though, he still doesn't know where the secret lair is located, so we're not sure how he's gonna drive us out in the first place. And a final thing that we collected was that this is in fact a battle to the death. For Shredder anyway. He wants to take us out once and for all.

Besides all the information we've gathered, none of us is really sure what to do. Donnie's been in his lab non-stop for weeks. He only comes out during training and meals, though he does usually take his plate into the lab. But once again all the time he spending time in his lab really pays off. Donnie's completed the Shellraser and rebuilt metalhead. The stealth bike was finish long ago, so was the healing gel. Turns out you can store it in the fridge.

The 8th of December came, and that was a brutal day. A year ago, on December 8th, was the night Donnie and I got captured by Shredder. The night that we got taken to TCRI. The night that Donnie got tortured. Though he wouldn't admit it, we could all plainly see fear and anger in Donnie's eyes. Our first snow fall day was ruin forever. We didn't do much for Christmas either. Like last year, we decided to kinda just skip it and waited till out family was whole again. Leo was missing this year, just like Donnie was last year.

Donnie also built some cool gadgets to help us beat Shredder. He modified his 'bat wings' and built extra sets for everyone. The genius turtle was also able to hook up and remodel the krang gun, to the Shellraser. Raph, being in control of the weapon station, was very happy about that. And as of right now, Donnie is working in his lab once again.

"Donnie?" I called his name as I poked my head in.

"Yeah?" He called back and emerged from the newly built Shellraser. He looked at me for a moment before asking, "Ah man, did I miss another training session?"

"No." I shook my head and laughed, "I just came to bring you some lunch." I pulled out the plate that I held behind my back. On it, was a ham and veggie sandwich.

Donnie gave me a sweet smile before stepping off the Shellraser and wiping his hands on a used rag.

"Thanks."

"No problem, I made it myself." I told him and stepped further into his lab. I walked over to his desk and hopped up as Donnie sat down in his chair. I pushed the plate towards him and Donnie picked up the sandwich.

"Did you eat yet?" He asked before taking a bit.

"No, not yet." I responded. Donnie then ripped his sandwich in half, and handed half to me. The purple clad turtle was never a big eater. He rarely finishes a whole meal, but still manages to stay at good health.

"Here." Donnie urged on after I didn't take the sandwich right away.

I sighed and smiled, "Fine." And I took half the sandwich out of Donnie's three fingered hand, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Donnie shrugged and gobbled up his half of the ham sandwich, "Mm, this is good." Donnie's voice was muffled as he spoke through a mouth full.

"Thanks, but don't talk with your mouth full."

Donnie gulped before speaking, "Sorry."

I smiled in return before finishing up my half sandwich and jumping off his desk. I walked over to the Shellraser and asked, "Were you working on this?"

"Yup, and everything is working properly." Donnie announced proudly, eyes shining.

"I though you finished the Shellraser last week."

"I did, but remember the quantum-plasma chip we found in the junk yard a long time ago? Well, I used it in the Shellraser's computers." Donnie explained and ate the last bit of his lunch, "They work four times as fast now and have triple the memory."

"Whoa, cool." I exasperated as I rang my fingers along the spray paint design that Donnie painted. Besides his genius brain and logical thinking, Donnie is quite the artist, "So what are you gonna work on next?"

" Oh, I'm gonna fiddle around with those." Donnie spun around in his chair and pointed to the pile of foot bots by the doors of his lab. There must of been about 15 to 20 foot bots that night they attacked the lair. And now Donnie had a bunch of new toys to play with.

"Cool, can I help?" I wondered. I always loved spending time with Donnie, especially in his lab. He always lets me help with his experiments.

"Well sure, but I need to take them all apart first." Donnie informed and walked over to the pile of foot bots just laying on his floor. He picked about five of them up at a time and brought them over to his desk.

"I can help you with that." I told him. I was happy to help Donnie with anything. So I went over and carried some more foot bots over to Donnie's lab desk. He went back and got the rest. I pulled up a chair as Donnie got his tool box.

"So all we do is pick a bot, and take it apart piece by piece." Donnie explained and set his tool box on his desk. He opened it and then took a bot from the pile. I did the same.

Donnie and I began by taking off the foot bot's black out fit. Underneath, it was just a basic robot body. It resembled a krang bot a lot, except there was no hole in the stomach for the krang. And so, we started to take a part the bot piece by piece. First the head came off, then the arms and legs. Then we would pop open the body and take out every gear, every chip, every rod. Donnie and I did this repeatedly for a few hours. Until we came near the end of the pile and I opened a particular bot's stomach. Inside, I found something...odd.

"H-hey Donnie." I called out to him but kept my eyes directed to the object in my hand.

"What's up?" He wondered, but still focused on his robot.

"Is it normal for a foot bot, or-or any robot to have a...CD in them?" I asked and glanced towards the working turtle who had froze. Donnie turned his head in my direction, confusion was glowing in his eyes.

"A...CD?"

"Yeah, I found it in this bot." I explained, "It has your name on it."

"Hm, let me see." Donnie spoke and grabbed the disk from my hand. He began to inspect it, "Hey Taylor?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you get my laptop for me?" He wondered, "It's in the living room on the couch."

"Sure." I agreed and got up. I walked out of Donnie's lab and into the living room. In there sat Lily, Raph, John and Karai. Mikey and Garret were no where to be seen since they went out skateboarding together. They offered John if he wanted to come, but he declined. Over the past few months, John finally got the guts to ask Karai out on a date. And she had said yes. Fast forward a few weeks now here they are. John and Karai are finally going out.

"Hey Taylor." Lily greeted me with a wave of her hand.

"Hey, what ya guys doing?" I asked as I located Donnie's laptop. It was right at the edge of the couch. I walked over and picked it up.

"We're watching a movie." Raph answer for Lily.

"Oh cool, what movie?" I questioned before heading back to Donnie's lab with his laptop tucked underneath my arm.

"Some horror movie." John responded flatly. He was never the type of guy who likes horror movies. John scares easily and rather not be scared by a film. But, I'm guessing they persuaded him.

"Don't worry baby, I'll protect you." Karai smiled and wrapped her arm around John. Ever since they've been a couple, Karai changed, a lot.

Before I could see what happened next, I decided to leave and headed back to Donnie's lab. I shut the huge metal doors behind me as I entered.

"I got it!" I shouted and ran over to Donnie's desk to hand him his laptop.

"Great! Thanks Taylor." Donnie thanked me and opened his homemade computer. He opened the disk compartment and slipped the CD in.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I wondered. Putting a mystery CD that I found inside a foot got in Donnie's computer didn't seem like such a good idea to me,"What if it has a virus?"

"Don't worry, it'll warn me before my computer plays the disk." Donnie waved the idea away and put in the CD anyway. Sure enough, there wasn't any virus and a gray bar saying 'loading' appeared on the screen. Then on the laptop screen, Shredder's face appeared, "Whoa." I heard Donnie whisper underneath his breath.

Then, Shredder began speaking.

_Donatello, how'd I know you would be able to find this disk. The genius turtle would be able to do something that simple. _

"What is this?" Donnie mumbled. His eyes were glued to the screen in deep concentration.

_For years I've been trying to destroy you turtles, with many failed attempts. We shall end this vendetta once at for all! On April 16, 12:00 am you shall all come to central park, for your parish. If however you chose to not come, and hide like the coward your Sensei is, I will send my top army of foot after you. They will rid you out of your lair and then you will perish with no honour left. And this time, Donatello, I will not let you live. _

The screen went black with a single red replay button blinking on the screen. I glanced over at Donnie. His mouth was open slightly and rounded. His missing tooth could just be seen and his eyes stretched wide. He gave a hard gulp.

"Do you realize what this means?" Donnie asked me blankly, his eyes wouldn't peel away from the dark computer screen, "W-we know Shredder's plans. We know when and how he's gonna attack."

"So that's why the bots were so easy to defeat!" I exclaimed, realizing what Shredder intended to do all along, "He-he wanted it to be easy to defeat the foot bots, so we would find this disk."

"Come on, we need to show the others." Donnie decided and leaped up. I quickly followed him out of the lab and in the living room. By this time, Mikey and Garret had returned from skateboarding.

"Guys! Stop the movie!" I cried and their jumpy eyes all looked at us shocked. Raph took the remote and paused the movie.

"Why, it's just getting good." He protested but Donnie had already made his way over to the DVD player. And ejected their movie.

"Dude! We were watching that!" Mikey shouted.

"This is more important!" Donnie spat back. He isn't usually so snappy, unless he has something vitally important, "Go get Sensei!"

Mikey, without a word, ran to the dojo and returned moments later with our rat master.

"What is it Donatello?" Splinter wondered, his arms folded together inside his robe.

Donnie took a deep breath before speaking cause it was a long explanation, "Taylor and I were taking apart the foot bots piece by piece so I could use their parts for new inventions, then Taylor found a CD hidden in one of the bots and we played it on my laptop. And, well...just...watch it." After Donnie was finished explaining, he pressed play. We all sat back and watched the disk.

The same messaged played. Shredder appeared and gave his little 'pep talk'. Sooner then I knew, the TV screen went black once again. Everyone's eyes were wide and their pupils were small with shock. They all had the same reaction that Donnie and I did. Nobody knew what to say.

"Guys, do you know what this means?" Donnie wondered, striking up the conversation after the long pause of silence.

"We know Shredder's plans..." Raph spoke in awe. This was a rare time where we know Shredder's actions a head of time.

"This is crucial information. We must use it wisely." Splinter instructed.

"Wait...the 16? T-that's a week from now." Lily pointed out the obvious that seemed to have eluted us.

"So...are we really going to fight Shredder?" Mikey wondered, his baby blue eyes round with curiosity and fear.

"We don't exactly have a choice Mikey, you heard him. If we don't he'll destroy the lair and send foot bots after us." Donnie put in.

"My sons, there is always a choice. Some times the right choice is not so clear from the wrong." Splinter gave his wise words of wisdom, but judging by Mikey's face, he was confused.

"But Sensei...it's what we've been training for, right?" Mikey sat there, puzzled as he asked his question.

"That is true Michelangelo, but I just wished we had more time." Sensei glanced down at the ground disappointingly. He was worried. Worried about his sons going into battle, with Shredder. Possibly the most feared villains of the turtles.

"C'mon Sensei, we're ready!" Raph encouraged, fist clenched tight in determination.

"You have only faced Oruku Saki a few times." Splinter's tone was sharp then softened at what he said next, "But yes Raphael, I believe you are ready."

"I hope so." John added on. Even him, Garret and Lily were gonna fight in this battle. Hopefully they'll stick with fighting the krang and the foot, nothing to hard. Even though they have gotten good over the past months. They all still have a lot to learn, but they were better then most who've only been training for a few months.

"But now it is training time." Splinter concluded and told us to meet him in the dojo in five minutes. Once he left, the room was loud with voices.

"Why would Shred-head give us his secret plans?" Mikey asked. He seemed to have all the questions.

"Because he's tired of waiting. What if Shredder was waiting for us to make the first move this entire time." Donnie suggested. He had his thinking face on.

"What'ya mean?" Raph cocked an eyebrow.

"Just think about it. Every time Garret took us to spy on Shredder, he just so happen to be talking about his master plan." Donnie continued, "Doesn't that seem suspicious?"

"Now that you mention it, it kinda does." John agreed, "But what are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting that Shredder knew we were there this whole time. And he's been waiting for us to attack. But this whole time, we've been waiting for Shredder to attack us. So by confessing his plans, it looks like he's making a stupid move, but what's really happening is that he's offering us a chance. A chance to make the first move. Though in reality, this _is _the first move. So he's convincing us that we have the advantage, when we really don't."

We all stared shocked at Donnie, amazed that he was able to figure that out. It may not have been the most appropriate time, but I couldn't help but feel a small surge of pride, knowing how smart my boyfriend really is.

"How did you come up with that?" Garret asked, still shocked.

"Well when you think about it logically-" Donnie didn't get to far in his statement before Raph interrupted him.

"Would you look at the time! Let's go to the dojo, training time! Oh well, maybe next time Donnie." Raph was being bitterly sarcastic. But Donnie just ignored it as usual, and we all got up to go training. Mikey and Raph were at the back of the pack. And I couldn't help but hear over their conversation.

"Hey Raph? What did Shredder mean by 'this time he won't let Donnie live'?"

"You dope!" Raph quietly shouted and smack Mikey on the back of the head, "When Donnie got tortured. Shredder 'let him live'."

"Ohhhhhh." Mikey exasperated before quickly ending the conversation as we entered the dojo to train for our final battle.

* * *

The next few days came and went. We focused all of our energy of training and preparation for the battle. It was drawing near, with fear and anxiety rising in the air, nobody could relax. Especially me. Most of the time, I would lie awake at night, fearing the future. Thoughts about the fight were storming in my head and taking over my brain until it was all I could think about.

_What's gonna happen? Will we be able to win? Will we come out alive? What about my friends? What if I never see them again? What if they get killed in the fight? How could I live without Lily? John? And now even Garret and I are close friends. What if I lose him? _

_What about the turtles? Their the ones I should be most worried about, their the ones who are going to fight the 'real bad guys.' Their the ones who are gonna take on the challenge, their the ones who are gonna fight Shredder. And Splinter, he's going to take on Shredder too. What if he dies? How would I ever be able to comfort the turtles if their Sensei died?_

Then, I would always think the worst thought,

_What if Donnie died? I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I can't live without Donnie. I already went months with him not remembering who I was. Then stupid Midgar convinced me to spend even more time away from Donatello by breaking up with him. By making the love of my life hate me. But then again...I'd rather Donnie hate me then die. He can't die on me. I won't let him. _

Those are the kinds of thoughts that keep me up at night. It's not 'I don't know if he likes me'. It's not those kinds of thoughts anymore. And right now, those thoughts are keeping me distracted from the world around me. Right now I was sitting on the couch, surrounded by my friends. No one was talking, we were all just sitting here. Drowning in our own thoughts.

I had to get out, I couldn't stand the silence anymore. And that's when I remembered. I remembered that I had planned something special, for me and Donnie.

"Hey Donnie." As I spoke, everyone jumped.

"Yeah?"

"Uh, come here." I told him and got up. I began walking towards the exit and as I glanced back over my shoulder, I saw that Donnie was following me.

"What's up?" He asked and leaned against the wall once we were out of the lair.

"I want to show you something." I explained as much as I could without revealing anything.

Donnie's eyes narrowed in confusion and he tilted his head.

"At 8:00 at night?" He wondered.

"Yup, it's topside."

"But the sun is only just starting to set, it won't be dark for another hour." Donnie pointed out.

"That's okay, we can stay on the roofs, in the shade." I urged on, grabbing Donnie's hand and pulling him forward.

"Oh, uh...okay." Donnie said rather excitedly. It was nice to see him smile after days and days of worrying over the final battle.

We didn't walk in the sewers for long. We quickly found the man hole cover and made our way up. In ninja stealth mode, we sneaked our way up to the surface and found ourselves on top of the roofs.

"This way." I told Donnie who was following close behind me. It was only about a ten minute roof run from where we were. I hope Donnie will like the surprised I planned for him.

"Hey Taylor, where are we going?" Donnie asked as we jumped from roof to roof. I smiled in his direction but gave no answer to Donnie. I picked up the pace, ignoring Donnie's question. He must of realized this because he quickly caught up with me.

We continued to sore through the air. Continued to jump on the roofs of New York without anyone ever knowing we're here. We did this for approximately ten minutes until I screeched to a stop. Donnie however flew ahead, not realizing that I came to a halt.

"Donnie!" I shouted his name before he could jump to the next roof.

"What?" He asked and ran back towards me.

"We're here." As I told him this, Donnie's eyes stretched wide. Him and I were currently standing on the roof of NYU, New York University.

"W-what are we doing here?" Donnie wondered in disbelief. Without a word, I laid down on the flat surface. Donnie coked an eyebrow. I gestured for him to lay down across from me and he did so. Between us, was a sky light. I popped it open, and peeked inside the school.

"Listen." I whispered to Donnie. With one last confused glance at me, Donnie looked down and watched what was going on in the university. A man began speaking.

"_Welcome class. Today we will be studying the science behind Hydroelectricity." _

Donnie looked up at me once again in disbelief. I had brought the turtle I love to something he would love, a real live university lecture. Donnie had told me how he's always dreamed about going to a real university and listening to one of their lecture. Sure we weren't exactly inside the building, but I thought this would be the next best thing.

"You're amazing." Donnie spoke softly but his eyes glowed brightly. A warm smile appeared on his face and he leaned over the skylight and kissed me. Once the kiss ended, we went back and observed the lecture.

It went on for about three hours. I actually learned a lot about hydroelectricity, and didn't fall asleep. I've heard before that these lectures tend to drag on forever and be painfully boring. But the whole time I was listening intensely and from what I could tell, so was Donnie. He looked so intrigued, so moved by the lecture. The entire time a wide grin possessed his face, showing off his adorable missing tooth.

Though the lecture was fascinating, it did seem long. Three hours was a long time to be laying flat on your stomach. And not to mention constantly leaning over a skylight didn't feel to good on the neck either. So once the lecture finished, both Donnie and I immediately stood up.

"That was amazing." Donnie declared with a big stretch. He walked over to me, jumping over the skylight as he did so. Donnie then wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in close. Our foreheads touching, "Thank you."

I smiled at the ground and giggled softly in response. I was glad that Donnie enjoyed himself. And deep down I knew that he would. I wanted to make this last night special. Tonight was the last night Donnie and I had together before the big fight. It was happening tomorrow night, at midnight. A bit cliche-ish, but over the years I've learned that Shredder likes to be dramatic.

Donnie and I began to sway back a forth. Soft music was playing in the university. The lecture ended and all the students started to mingle and enjoy the refreshments. But Donnie and I began dancing. To me, I never realized that we were dancing a little bit until now.

Enjoying the moment, I decided to take it a step further. I grabbed Donnie's hand and I spun around. Donnie laughed. He pulled me back close to him and we started dancing. The soft rhythm of the music echoing through the moonlit night and the soft spring breeze blowing through my hair was perfect. But what made this night perfect was not the glow of the moon, or the quiet streets, it was the fact that I got to spend the last night before the battle with the turtle I love.

"Why'd you do this?" Donnie asked me softly as he spun me around. When he wrapped his arm around my waist again is when I answered him.

"Because I wanted just one last perfect night with you." I told him simply.

"What do you mean?" Donnie gave me a confused look.

"Tomorrow's the final battle." I reminded him, "If something happens to one of us, I want to remember this night."

Donnie smiled warmly then spoke, "That's sweet. But nothing is going to happen to us. I won't let it."

"Me either." I whispered gently and rested my head against Donnie's chest. The beating of his heart matching nicely with the music.

"Hey." Donnie's voice grew stern and concerned. He grabbed onto my shoulders and pushed me away from his chest so he could look me in the eyes, "I will do anything to protect you."

"Me too." A few tears threatened to come out of my eyes as I spoke, but I wouldn't let them. The words 'me too' has such a history with me and Donnie. The will remain special forever.

Donnie never spoke after that. Instead, a wide smile spread across his face and warmth glowed in his reddish-brown eyes. He pulled me into a tight hug and rang his fingers through my hair. I could feel Donnie kissing the top of my head lightly.

"Hey! There's someone on the roof!" A random man shouted.

Donnie and I froze in place before quickly ducking down. The sides of the wall went a little taller then the roof, so there was like a little wall for Donnie and myself to duck down behind. We exchanged a panicked glance, our eyes wide with fear. But that fear faded and amusement replace it. Donnie and I tried to muffle our laughter.

"Looks like we're busted." Donnie whispered amusingly.

"We need to get out of here." I pointed out the obvious. I slightly peeked over top of the wall and seen the streets were quickly getting crowded. Everyone was curious to what two people are doing up on the roof.

"We need to ninja crawl to the other side of the roof and escape from there." Donnie explained his plan. I nodded along, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." I shrugged happily. Donnie mouthed the words 1 2 and 3 before ninja crawling across the roof. I followed closely behind. I guess our date came to a quick end.

I jumped off the back of the roof and onto another building, where Donnie was waiting for me. We sprinted for a little bit, to get away from the university. But we came to a quick stop to catch our breath. We ran the opposite way from the man hole cover that led us back to the lair, but it was the only way to escape. So we will have a little bit further to run then when we were going to the school.

"That was close!" Donnie panted but with a smile.

Yeah..." I breathed heavily as I spoke. I smiled back at Donnie, but his smile faded as he looked down at the ground. I grew concerned, "Donnie? What's wrong?"

"All that talk about the final battle got me worried." Donnie confessed and looked up at me with sad eyes, "Leo's not back yet."

My smile faded as Donnie spoke. He was right, our leader in blue had not returned.

"We'll have to fight without him." Donnie continued, "What if something happened to him? He's been gone for months! Shouldn't he have been back by now?"

"He should be..." I agreed quietly. I didn't know what to say or how to comfort Donnie. Leo's been gone since September and now it's the month of April. Nearly the end of it. And he's still hasn't returned.

"Do you think he's..." Donnie refused to finish his sentence. But he didn't need to. I knew Donnie wanted to asked if I think Leo is dead.

"No." I shook my head, not wanting to believe myself, "He can't be."

Donnie opened his mouth then closed it again, decided not to say whatever he was going to. He smiled instead.

"You're right. We need to keep hoping right?" While Donnie's voice was confident, his eyes showed fear. But knowing when and when not to push Donnie any further, I decided to change the subject.

"Hey, wanna go a more fun way home?" I wondered with a mischievous smile.

"Uh...sure." Donnie answered me with uncertainty.

I poked Donnie's arm before speaking, "You're. It." And then I dashed away.

Donnie caught on immediately, and started chasing me. We were playing roof-top tag. It was a game that Leo taught me a long time ago. It's a great training exerciser and a lot of fun.

"You're...fast!" Donnie cried as he attempted to catch up to me. My competitive side took over me as I began to sprint even faster. But Donnie ran faster as well. I knew that I couldn't out run him, I so came up with a plan.

I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. They started to feel like jello. I did a quick glance over my shoulder and saw that Donnie started running faster as well, or in other words, ran right into my trap. I was coming near the edge on another roof top, I made in seem like I was going to jump but stopped at the last second.

Donnie, not realizing that I stopped ran past me. He looked back over his shoulder and gave me a confused look. And before he could stop himself, Donnie tripped over the edge and went plummeting down right into a large garbage can.

"You okay?" I called down to him, trying not to laugh. My plan had worked perfectly.

"Yeah...I'm okay." Donnie shouted softly. Picking garbage off of his head.

"Good." I nodded in satisfaction, " I'll see you back at the lair!"

"Hey! No fair!" Was the last words I heard Donnie shout before I took off.

I didn't run near as fast as I did just moments ago. I knew I had the advantage. Donnie was still stuck in the dumpster, or so I thought. Sooner then I knew it, a pair of green hands grabbed onto my shoulder and jumped straight over my head. I looked up and saw a mutant turtle fly over top of me yelling,

"You're it!"

I stopped dead in my tracks and stared in disbelief. There was no way Donnie could move so fast. But apparently he could. I guess I should have ran when I had the chance. But, the game wasn't over yet. Without wasting a second, I bolted after Donnie.

I eventually tagged him again. And this time, I made it all the way back into the sewers without Donnie tagging me.

"Ha! I win." I bragged jokingly as Donnie climbed down the ladder and into the sewers. He jumped down the last few steps, splashing drops of sewer water everywhere. But I didn't mind, I got use to the smell, fast.

"Yeah yeah. Only cause you cheated." Donnie admitted and pushed me jokingly as we began to walk back to the lair.

"Did not!" I protested and pushed Donnie back, "How did I cheat?"

"You made me fall into a dumpster." Donnie pointed out. Though I didn't really see his point.

"That doesn't count as cheating. I was being strategic!" I claimed, "It's not my fault you weren't looking where you were going. Plus you tagged me even after that."

"Okay fine." Donnie laughed, "You win." Him and I talked and laughed all the way back to the lair. Smiling happily and just goofing around. It was a nice way to spend our final night before the battle. And what made it even better was when we got back to the lair. Only a few minutes after we entered and sat on the couch, someone came for a visit.

"Hi." He greeted us. But no one responded, all too frozen with shocked. Because standing in the doorway, was Leo.

* * *

**Perfect way to end a chapter right? He's back! Now before you kill me, I'm gonna say hope you enjoyed and please review! Bye! **


	23. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"L-Leo?" Donnie stuttered in disbelief.

"Hey." He greeted us again.

"Leo!" Mikey shouted the name of his older brother, who has been gone for eight months. Mikey ran up and jumped into Leo's arms. Raph and Donnie did the same, "You're back bro." I heard Mikey whisper as silent tears streamed down his face.

"Yeah Mikey, I'm back." Leo paused and looked up at Sensei, who was standing just a few feet away from them, "And I'm here to stay."

"Welcome home my son." Splinter smiled and bowed his head out of respect. For his oldest son who had returned from a long trip to Japan.

The brothers hugged for a few moments long. Everyone of them was caught up in the moment of their eldest brother returning to them. Each of the brothers, including Leo himself, shed a fear tears of joy. Over taken by happiness, no one could stop the wide smiles upon each face.

"Okay, my turn!" Lily declared and jumped off the couch. She ran over and hugged Leo. John and I followed her.

"It's good to have you back." I told him and our leader in blue smiled back at me.

"It's good be be back." Leo said then all hugged us tighter.

Once all the hugging died down, we all moved over to the couch. A lot has happened in eight months, and Leo needed to know all of it. We each took turns explaining everything. First we introduced Leo to Garret. And explained why he was here.

Next I told him about how Lily, John and Garret are all training as ninjas. But Splinter broke the news to him about the final battle with Shredder. And how it's happening tomorrow. We also talked about Donnie and his knew inventions, and how the Shellraser is rebuild. We told Leo about the CD in the foot bot and the foot bot attack itself. All in all, we told Leo everything.

"Wow, so I guess I missed a lot." Leo concluded. His face was pale and overwhelmed.

"Yeah, but your back now." Mikey reassured and scooted closer to Leo.

"And just in time too." Leo added, "That's if, you'll let me lead you again."

We all exchanged a glance of amusement.

"Leo." Raph began, he was sitting directly beside Leo, "You'll always be our leader, you...dork." Raph attempted a sentimental moment but backed off as he gave Leo a punch on the shoulder.

"Thanks Raph." Leo, recognized Raph's attempted, but a hand on his shoulder and smiled warmly at him.

"So Leo, how was Japan?" Mikey wondered and his eyes glowed like a little kid's.

"My sons." Splinter interrupted, "While we should rejoice that Leonardo has returned home safely. We should all get some rest."

Mikey stared disappointingly at his rat master, but didn't argue. Leo's been on a long journey, and probably is in need of a good night's rest. Everyone sensed this, so despite our overwhelming joy, we all went to bed.

As predicted, I couldn't get to sleep. Leo was home! My system was to build up with excitement. But also fear. It was true that Leo picked the perfect timing to come home. We couldn't ask for a better day. But tomorrow, probably by this time, we would be heading off to central park for our final battle with Shredder. There's no telling what will happen there.

There's no doubt that we'll get hurt. But will our troubles truly end then and there? If Shredder dies, if we kill him, will our problems come to an end? Will there ever be a end to this cycle? It seems every time we get rid of one enemy, a new, tougher one shows up. Will this happen with Shredder? If so, will a bigger, tougher enemy come? With a more gruesome battle? What then?

With these thoughts in my mind, I finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

" Breakfast is ready!" Mikey's voice boomed through out the lair and echoed off the walls. We were all able to get a good sleep, so we were well rested for what is to come.

I walked in the kitchen, still dressed in my gray pyjama shirt and purple criss-cross pants. I couldn't fight back the smile as my nose inhaled the delicious smell of Mikey's cooking. The scent of eggs, bacon, toast and fruit filled my nose and warmed my heart.

"Mikey, this smells amazing!" I exclaimed and took my seat beside Donnie. Splinter was seated at the head of the table. On the left side sat Leo and Raph. On the other side sat Donnie, then me and to my other side was where Mikey would sit if he wasn't getting everyone's eggs ready. Karai was at the foot of the table.

Ever since Leo returned home, Karai had been oddly quiet. But there was no tension between the two, not like there use to be. The hostile look in Leo's blue eyes completely faded. There was no awkward feeling between Leo and Karai, and it looked as if Leo had no feelings towards Karai what so ever. He only cared for her as a sister now, nothing more.

"Thanks Tay." Mikey smiled brightly and handed me a plate with some scrambled eggs, two pieces of toast and some fruit on it. By now, everyone knew that I didn't eat meat, therefor didn't take any bacon.

Once everyone was settled, Mikey served himself and sat down to enjoy a nice family breakfast.

_This might be the last on we'll ever have._ I thought to myself. _No, I can't think like that._

The final battle is tonight, and I couldn't be more scared. As much as I kept telling myself that everything was going to be okay, I was terrified that it wouldn't be. I mean, it all comes down to this. This is our last and only chance to defeat Shredder once and for all. It's either we kill him or he kills us. Though the choice is clear, our option seems bleak.

No one spoke during breakfast, and I can assume why. They were all fearing and thinking the same thing I was. Even master Splinter's eyes shown a twinge of fear. But not for his life, but our owns. He feared for the lives of his sons, and daughter. He even feared for my life.

But the silence wasn't all bad, parts of it was rather enjoyable. We were able to appreciate one other's company. We were eating as a family. And everyone seemed to be devouring the delicious food Mikey had made for us this morning.

"Now that..." Raph paused as he belched, "...was good."

We all had different reactions at Raph's burp. Mikey giggled and Leo looked rather proud of his red banned brother. Karai snorted a laugh while Splinter shook his head in amusement. Donnie and I both wore a face of disgust.

After breakfast was finished and cleaned up, we all gathered in the living room. We awaited Lily, John, and Garret's arrival. We needed to plan out one final battle strategy before tonight. We all sat on the couch, including Splinter. He was at the edge and Mikey was sitting beside him. Raph sat next to Mikey, and left a space between him and Karai so Lily could sit. On the next section of the couch, Leo sat next to Karai, then Donnie next to Leo. I of course, sat next to Donnie and finished up the line of people.

We again, sat in silence. Not a sound could be heard except the steady breathing of everyone. But Mikey's been starring at Leo for a little while now, with narrowed eyes. Not in anger, but wonder and confusion. I wondered what he could be thinking. Then, as if on queue, Mikey asked,

"Hey Leo?"

"hm?" Leo hummed and looked at his freckled face brother.

"Can you tell us what happened on your journey now?"

"Yeah." Raph agreed, "Did you get caught in the Paris bombing?"

"Oh." Leo looked shocked, as if the question had caught him by surprise, "You know about that."

"Yeah, it was all over the news." Donnie informed and looked at his brother curiously. Awaiting an answer as we all were.

"Well...yeah. I was." Leo admitted shyly. His shoulder rose up and a reddish glow appeared on his cheeks.

"Did you get hurt?" Donnie was the first to ask the obvious question, as the medic of the family, it's kinda his job to.

"...it's...complicated." Leo answered hesitantly, not knowing if we would except his answer. Sure enough, we didn't.

"It's a yes or no question Leo." Raph pointed out bluntly. His green eyes narrowed.

"Um...sorta." Leo responded again, but this answer wasn't any better then the last.

"My son." Splinter cut in, "Did you make it to Japan?"

Leo shook his head.

"Hmm, interesting." Splinter stroked his long white beard while replying. He didn't sound mad, but intrigued. By now we all noticed a change in Leo's personality from the time he left. Leo was acting like his old self again, the fearless leader we all know. All the hatred and anger that once possessed him was long gone. His ocean blue eyes were luscious and calm again. Leo was truly home where he belongs.

"So...you stayed in Paris?" Mikey wondered, making the assumption.

"Then you were hurt." Donnie made the second assumption, no one leaving time for Leo to answer.

"Enough!" Splinter, while not yelling, was firm, "Clearly Leonardo is not comfortable talking about his journey. We shall respect his wi-"

"We're here!" Lily's voice rang in the lair, cutting off Splinter. My blonde haired friend came running in the lair with John and Garret close on her tail.

"Sorry we're late." John apologized and took a seat next to me, Garret then sat next to him. Lily went and sat next to Raph.

"It's okay, now that your here, we can begin planning." Leo announced, though his voice was less certain then it use to be. I can understand why Leo might be a bit nervous to take the lead once again, he's been gone for almost a year, and might think it be weird to just come back and act like nothing ever happened. But we welcomed Leo back with open arms, he was our leader, their brother. No one could ever take his place.

It took about two hours until we were done planning. We brained stormed and shared ideas. We didn't want to over plan, Sensei warned us that it's important to keep our minds open. To not plan ahead to far and to live in the moment. But also that it was a good idea to have a basic plan. So we came up with a battle strategy.

We needed a battle plan, just a short one at the least, to allow us to land the first blow on Shredder. We needed to demonstrate that we were strong, and as a team, we will win the fight. And by the end of the two hours, we came up with the perfect plan.

After the planning, we still had a lot of time to spare, so we spent that time training. Not a moment was to be wasted.

"Again!" Splinter declared as he pasted back and forth from the beginning to the end of his line of students.

We were all lined up in a straight line. Leo was at the head, followed by Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Karai, myself, Lily, John and last Garret. We were practising all kinds of different katas, that had to be formed in a certain pattern.

First, Leo would take a battle stance then do a back flip, he would throw two hard punches and jump up in the air, while in the air Leo would do a kick then land back in the original battle stance. We each had to do this. Once Leo would do the first back flip, Raph would start, when Raph landing, Donnie would start then so on and so forth. Until it was a complete line demonstrating each step.

Once that kata was near perfection, Splinter moved onto another training exerciser. Again in a line, he would walk back and forth, going in front and behind us. At random moments, he would throw us a surprise attack, testing each of his students. This whole time our eyes remained closed.

I was able to sense my surroundings, it was a skill that Master Splinter taught me early in my ninja training. We were all pretty good at it. Like, I could tell when Splinter attacked one of us, and which move he was using.

I felt the wind from a punch, that Splinter had just thrown at Lily, who was standing right next to me. I heard the clap noise of a fist catching the hand, and I sensed when Lily jumped as Splinter tried to sweep her legs from underneath her. I heard the thumb of Lily landing safely on the ground.

"Good." Splinter congratulated and continued to walk on.

Next, I heard him stop in front of Leo. Splinter did a spinning back kick but Leo swiftly dodge out of the way. I then heard the sound of several claps of punches being caught and Leo sweeping the legs of his Sensei from underneath him. I heard Splinter fall to the ground.

"Excellent Leonardo." Splinter mused and continued on his path, this time going behind us all.

I felt Splinter's presence behind me and awaited his attack. When I heard the gentle sound of a crouch and a sweep, I swiftly jumped up, tucking my knees close to my chest in the air, as I dodged Splinter's leg. When I landed, I moved my body back and forth as I moved out of the path of Splinter's fist. With a side kick, I felt my foot come in contact with Splinter's soft Kimono as I kicked him away.

"Well done." Splinter praised and moved on. We did this training exercise for a little while, until the time came for actual combat.

Lily, John and Garret each had a weapon now. They've received theirs months ago, for Splinter found it unfitting for them to go into battle without a weapon. This was the biggest and first battle of their life, they needed the proper equipment.

Lily's weapon was a beautiful single katana. Much like Karai's but with blue silk wrapped around the handle and a golden dragon printed on it. Garret didn't really have an official weapon. But he did have blades. He was a master at throwing knives, blades, and stars. So his weapon of defence was a bunch of throwing knives. Garret turned out to be a close up fighter. John's weapon was a pair of Kamas. A Kama is a straight handle with a curved blade at the end. Mikey described them as mini grim-reaper weapons since that's what they resembled. Both of them had a black handle and rare black blades.

Splinter paired us up. Leo was with Raph, and Donnie with Mikey. I got paired up with John and Garret. Splinter wanted us to try a three way group, since most battles are not a fair fight. Then last, Karai got partnered up with Lily. And so the fight began.

I wasn't really aware of how the other fights were going. I just focused on my own battle as we three circled each other. John charged first, coming at me with his jet black weapons. They were raised over his shoulder, preparing to strike. I held my Hanbo firmly in my hands and I blocked the swinging Kamas. I kicked John in the stomach and he stumbled backwards. But sooner then I knew it, my legs were swept from underneath me and I landed on the ground with a hard thump. I rolled on my back just in time to see Garret in mid air, going to pin me down. I shot my legs in the air and kicked Garret up and over me.

I jumped up and saw the Garret stumbled into John but he gave a few quick blows and punched to get Garret out of his way. While John was fighting Garret, I took my opportunity to strike. I ran up and nailed John right in the back with my Hanbo, but not hard enough to cut any skin. Garret doubled the attacked and tackled John to the ground, I joined in the wrestling match.

I could feel myself getting squished underneath the two boys. I felt my fists and legs hit flesh, but I'm not sure who I was hitting. With some swift movements and twist of my Hanbo, I found myself having Garret in a headlock between my legs, and John pinned under me, my Hanbo running across his chest, preventing him from getting up.

"Yame!" Splinter called the words that ended every match. I had won, "Well done Taylor, you have surely improved."

"Thank you, Sensei." I thanked Splinter and bowed to him once I stood up. After that, we moved on to yet another training exercise. And we trained, and trained. We trained all day.

* * *

Leo, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Lily, John, Garret, Karai and myself all sat in a circle on the living room floor. It was nearly time to leave, it was almost Midnight. We were meditating. We woke up from our naps a little while ago and decided to spend the last hour meditating.

The aroma around us was soothing. The lite candles gave off a relaxing sent. Everything was calm and quiet. Only deep breathing could be heard, and blackness could be seen. My eyes were gently closed, and I concentrated on nothing but breathing.

"It is time." Splinter's wise voice broke me out of my trance. We all opened our eyes at the same time. We woke up from our deep meditation and fear hit this room within instance.

But we swallowed our fear, and replaced it with determination. We will win this fight. So we began to gear up.

"You will wear these." Splinter instructed and handed all of his human disciples black clothing. I went to go change in my room.

When I returned a few moments later, I was wearing a tight black T-shirt and pants. My hair was tied back in a high tight ponytail and I wore a ninja mask. My mask was grey with fancy purple designs. Lily walked out of the bathroom wearing the same thing as me, but her mask was a deep shade of pink.

John and Garret walked out of two other rooms, wearing black pants and a black muscle shirt. I never really realized this before, but John had grown really strong and has quite a bit of muscles now. Him and Garret even have abs, which could be slightly seen through their shirts. John's mask was a black mask with a blue stripe on the tails. Garret wore a plain dark green mask. It illuminated his blue eyes nicely. Karai was back to wearing her original, metal, outfit.

"You guys look awesome!" Mikey exclaimed, hands in the air, emphasizing his words.

"Thanks! I feel like a super hero!" Lily smiled as she stroke a classic super hero pose.

"Now that you guys are dressed, we need to suit you up." Raph explained with a grin. That's when all four turtles took a roll of wrap from behind there backs. Raph walked over to Lily, Leo to Garret, Mikey to John and finally Donnie to me.

"You look really nice." Donnie complimented me while blushing. He knelt down and began wrapping up my ankles. Then I handed him my hands, remembering last time I fought with no protection wrap I got blisters all over my hands, "There, finished." Donnie backed away and studied me over. Making sure that there was nothing else that needed wrapping. Next, Donnie helped me put on my belt and shoulder strap for my weapon. I placed my Hanbo in it's carrier. By this time, everyone else was done too.

"It's time we leave." Master Splinter spoke up, his hands tucked in the sleeves of his kimono. We all fell silent and bowed to Splinter.

"Hai Sensei." We all spoke simultaneously.

"Everyone know the plan?" Leo wondered before we all starting heading off. We all gave a hard nod to our leader, "Alright, let's go. Raph, stealth bike. Mikey, Karai, you come with me. The rest of you, go with Donnie and Sensei in the Shellraser."

We nodded once again and then we split up and went to our assigned vehicles.

"And everyone." Leo continued, "Stay safe."

With a warm smile on my face, I gave a third and final nod before turning back around and running off to Donnie's lab. When we all got there, Raph said his goodbyes and jumped in the stealth bike.

"Hey Raph!" Lily called out and ran over to the bike before Raph had a chance to leave, "Listen to Leo, okay?"

Raph gave no response except a confused face.

"Stay safe." Lily clarified and gave Raph a kiss. He kissed back before whispering goodbye. Lily backed away and rejoined our group. Donnie opened the garage door for his older brother and Raph drove away.

We didn't waste a second after Raph was gone. Donnie opened the doors to the Shellraser and climbed in. I followed after him and the rest after me.

"Metalhead!" Donnie poked his out of the car and called to his beloved robot friend that he had recreated. Metalhead started up at the sound of his creator's voice and stared at him, "Come on buddy, you're coming with us." At Donnie's command, Metalhead came running over and hopped in the van.

"Is he driving?" I asked, remembering stories Donnie told me about Metalhead and his driving.

"Yup." Donnie gave me a reassuring nod then instructed Metalhead to the wheel. Donnie took his place in the back of the van and asked others to fill in a station. He asked Garret to control the weapons, since he has the best aim. John was asked to take over the navigation part. He did with pleasure. Lily, Splinter and I remained standing up, and prepared to hang on for our lives.

"Metalhead," Donnie continued, "Drive." And so we took off. _This is it._ I thought to myself, _It's really happening. The final battle, is here._

* * *

The night air was crisp and cool. Winter has passed, and all that remained of it was it's chilled nights. It was quiet, deathly quiet. Here we were, in Central park. The Shellraser had just arrived, and the first one to. But Shredder and his army were already here. I peeked out the window of our van, and seen a row of hundreds of foot-bots and ninjas. Hundreds of Krangs. Mutants were there too. BaxterFly, TigerClaw, FishFace and Rahzar. Then, in the front. In front of the huge crowd of an army, was Shredder. Waiting patiently for our arrival.

"You guys ready for this?" Donnie whispered as he clenched the handle of the doors. After a hard gulp, we nodded.

"Are you ready for this?" I whispered to Donnie, and to Donnie alone. No one else could hear me. Donnie nodded to reassure me. I remembered the first time Donnie seen Shredder after he had got tortured. He had freaked out, letting fear control him. But now? That fear that had once haunted his brown eyes, was long gone. Replaced by hatred, determination, and most of all, revenge. All of eyes showed that we wanted revenge for what Shredder did to Donnie, to Splinter, to this family. Splinter, who was not one to go for revenge, showed that he wanted it. Nobody hurts this family, and if they do, they have Splinter to deal with.

With a deep breath, Donnie turned the handle and flung open the doors. We all jumped out of the Shellraser one by one. Splinter, going first, stood at the head of the pack. We stood behind him and a few feet in front of the Shellraser, closing the doors behind us.

"Oruku Saki." I heard Splinter's voice whisper, full of hate.

"Hamato Yoshi." Shredder replied back, "Or should I even call you that? You have no honour left since you've became this disgusting creature."

"The only one with no honour here is you." Splinter spat back bitterly.

There was a brief moment of silence before Shredder continued, "Where are the rest of you?!"

As if on queue, the Stealth bike came roaring into central park and Raph jumped out of it. He took his place beside Lily in our little line. Then, out of nowhere, Leo, Karai, and Mikey fell out of the sky. They had took the bat wings here, and now they stood along the side of us. Leo, stood with Splinter, he is after all, our leader.

"That's better." Shredder chuckled evilly, "When I take you out, I want to do it all at once."

"I would love to see you try!" Raph shouted from behind. When you threaten this family, you threaten Raph as well.

"Shredder." Splinter took over the speech once more, "We do not have to do this." Classic Splinter, always tries to go down the right road first and not the one that involves a fight. And possibly death.

"I've been waiting years for this." Shredder reassure with a wicked look in his blood shot eyes.

"Very well." Splinter bowed his head, ashamed of his once called friend.

"Karai." Shredder began speaking again, "you've done well."

The sense of confusion hit our group like a weight. What was Shredder talking about? Karai was Splinter's daughter now, why was Shredder congratulating her?

I heard Karai softly chuckle with an evil grin upon her face. Then, she strode over to Shredder and joined his side.

"Karai! What are you doing?" Leo shouted, shocked by Karai's actions.

"You really think I was on your side?" She began, "You thought I would believe some story that the rat is my true father?"

"But, we trusted you. You betrayed us!" Leo continued to shout. We were all enraged. For over a year now, we gave Karai shelter, food, water and a loving home. Better then anything Shredder could give her.

"I've been loyal to Shredder this entire time, my true father." Karai huffed, evil amusement glowed brightly off of her. We were now short one ninja, and we're already out numbered as it was.

"You have done well too." Shredder continued, now confusion was really hitting us hard, "Garret."

At his words, we all froze in place. To shocked to even speak. This was not going according to plan.

"Here." Shredder clapped his hands and Rahzar stepped forward. He was carrying someone in his arms, a woman. Then, the mutated dog tossed her forward. A beautiful woman, with long flowing brown hair. But she had a blood stained rag tied over her mouth. Her white dressed covered in read and her hands tied tightly behind her back.

"Mom!" Garret cried and ran forward to the girl. He quickly united her arms and mouth. It looks as if him and the girl were having a sentimental moment. Hugging each other tightly, for this was Garret's mother.

"Garret! What's going on?" Mikey yelled. Hurt stained his baby blue eyes.

"I'm sorry guys." Garret apologized with sincerity, "But for me, my family always comes first." With that, Garret got up and joined Shredder's side as well. Two of our allies, turned out to be traitors.

"That's right. Your little spy, was working for me the whole time." Shredder was almost too evil. I felt no hate towards Garret, Shredder had capture his family. And I know Garret, his mom is the only family he has. He was doing the same thing any of us would do if our family got captured by the metal beast.

Being betrayed is not a good feeling. And knowing what's going to happen next makes me feel sick in my stomach. Where we were standing was kinda like in a flower bed. It was this wide open circle, but beautiful white flowered circled the circumference of it. But not even the majestic flowers could bring me some peace of mind. And to make it worst, I heard one clash of thunder before rain stared pouring down.

I waited in anticipation. All we needed was that one signal to start this battle. My eyes were glued to Leo, waiting for the sign. He exchanged one glance with Sensei before glancing over his shoulder. Leo raised his hand and did a mini slash through the air. That was it, that was the signal. The battle was about to begin.

As if in slow motion, we all ran forward. The field erupted in a fierce battle cry. We all charged forward with top speed. I unsheathed my Hanbo and held it firmly in my hands as I charged forward. Then, we stopped. Even though Garret betraying us wasn't apart of the plan, we were still gonna stick to it.

Shredder's clan stopped as well, confused. Then with a single battle cry, Karai jumped up and forcefully kicked Shredder right in the head. Then did a flip and landed beside us. This was all apart of the plan, to get the first hit on Shredder.

"That's for lying to me for my entire life!" Karai spat as Shredder regained his balance. Just then when Shredder was about to get back up, Garret knocked him back down.

"I may have been working for you. But I will never fight along side of you." And with those words, Garret rejoined our side. This entire time, we thought we could trust Garret, but we couldn't. All those times that we spied on Shredder, that he spied on him. Shredder knew. He knew that we were there, that Garret was there. They must of have exchanged information, that's how Garret knew so much. But all of that's in the past know. The important thing is that in the end, Garret rejoined our side. And was going to fight with us.

Enraged, the battle began once more. Leo and Mikey took to the air with their bat wings on their backs. They were swooping down, picking up bots and smashing them with a mighty drop. The rest of us did classic combat and Splinter took on Shredder.

I swung my Hanbo viciously at the foot bots as they surrounded me. We were greatly out numbered with people, but not with skill. A few of the foots were twice the size as the original ones, but bigger enemy means bigger target to hit.

The sound of clashing metal echoed along with the thunder. Rain and sweat ran down my forehead as I battled. My Hanbo was swinging non-stop. Knocking the heads off of foot and krang bots. Even some blood stained the tips of the spike ball at the end of my weapon, from the human foot ninjas. My body was beginning to ache, I had no idea how long we've been fighting for.

It must of been for a while, Leo and Mikey were now down on the ground. Their bat wings got destroy and were torn to pieces. So flying was a no-go now.

"Taylor, behind you!" Leo warned from somewhere in the circular field. Taking his warning, I dropped to the ground and swung my leg out behind me. I knocked a foot-ninja to the ground. So taking the upper hand, I jumped on him and tackled him. I quickly sat myself on the ninja's stomach and pinned his wrists to the ground.

The foot squirmed underneath my grip and kicked at me violently. If I could just reach my Hanbo, which the foot-ninja had kicked away from me, I could knock this guy out. But unfortunately, that wasn't an option without letting the foot-ninja go.

With one last great kick, the foot was able to knock me off of him. I rapidly crawled across the soaking grass and gripped my weapon. I was able to reach it and jump up from the ground. Just in time to block the swing sword coming at me. But, I felt something cold on my skin as it tore through it. A quick pain shot up and down my arm. I backed away from the foot-ninja and gripped my arm. It had a stinging pain, for another foot-ninja had swooped in and cut my lower arm. From the wrist just about a couple of inches away from my elbow.

"Great." I huffed to myself. This was my first real battle wound. Sure, I had a couple of scratches, and quite a few bruises but this was kinda a big one. But I wasn't about let one wound stop me, so I charged back into battle. Whacking the foot in the gut, blood sprayed across the ground.

More and more came. Krang bots and foot-ninjas surrounded me for the like tenth time tonight. I was out numbered and kept getting hit more often. The enemy was landing more and more blows on me. I tried my best to fight back, but wasn't doing such a good job.

That was, until I heard another battle cry and sooner then I knew, one more krang was down and John was standing over it.

"Looks like you could use some help." John smiled and stabbed another krang bot right in the head.

"Thanks." I breathed a sigh of relief as I joined in. John and I were now fighting side by side, knocking out any threat that stood in our way. I only got a quick glimpse, but I seen all of John's battle wounds. A long bleeding cut ran cross his chest, cutting his skin and taring his muscle shirt.

"Taylor, to your right!" John called and slashed one of his Kamas through the air. Taking out a foot-ninja to the right of me. I did the same for him by sweeping the legs of a krang bot over to the left of John.

We continued to fight this way for a while. Until my section of Central park was done. We had wiped out every foot-ninja, bot, and krang on my side.

"Ready to go help the others?" John wondered with a grin. Clearly his battle wounds weren't bothering him, so I wasn't worry.

John ran right back into battle, but I stayed and scoped the scene. Even if my section was cleared, there was still lots more to go. I noticed that Donnie and Raph were fighting Rahzar. Mikey and Karai took on FishFace and TigerClaw, while Lily, Garret and now John were fighting the krang, foot, and BaxterFly. Splinter and even Leo were fighting the Shredder.

I noticed that Lily was having some trouble, so I ran over to help her. She was battling three foot bots at once and was taking on BaxterFly. So I ran as fast as my tired legs could carry me and jumped up in the air. My hands were gripping my Hanbo firmly, I could feel the blood pulsing through my veins. In mid air, I pressed the hidden button and the spiked metal balls at each end of my weapon unleashed into a chain, dangling in the cool night air. I wrapped one chain around a foot bot and as I landed, I kicked the bot squarely in the head. Causing it to malfunction and break down.

Lily turned around shocked, but when she seen it was only me, she smiled a thanks. I remained by Lily's side for a while. Her blood stained hair told me that she needed some help. So I battled some bots and BaxterFly with one of my best friends.

"Taylor!" Lily shouted, her voice could barely be heard over the sound of the fight.

"Yeah?!"

"I have a plan! Follow my lead!" Lily cried and I nodded, prepared to follow my friend. With a mighty swing of her sword, Lily took out one last foot bot before jumping on the mutant fly. I stood there, frozen in place for a few moments, before I shrugged and jumped on BaxterFly's back as well.

He buzzed around like crazy, but Lily had a tight grip around his neck. She was not about to let go.

"You listen here you little bug. You will cooperate or so help me I will cut off your wings." Lily threatened and held up her katana. After that, the mutant fly calmed himself and listened to Lily's commands.

"Nice going Lily!" I congratulated her as we took off in the air. I must admit, it was a little weird ridding on the back of a fly, but I couldn't complain.

"Thanks!" Lily smiled. Her dark pink mask was blowing in the wind. Her blonde hair was glowing against the cloudy night sky. Due to her very brightly coloured hair, the blood in it was easily detected. But again, she didn't seem to be in any pain, "Think Donnie and Raph need help?" She wondered.

I glanced over Lily's shoulder as we hovered in the air. I gazed upon two fighting turtles battling a giant mutant dog-wolf thing. I nodded my head to Lily and she ordered BaxterFly to Fly forward. And so we raced through the air, cutting the sky like a knife as we charged forward.

We dipped in the air and flew right above and over Rahzar's head, then we circled back. Lily controlled Baxter with one had and held her sword in the other. She swooped down and cut Rahzar on the end, cutting down to size on one of his spikes. He howled in pain and dropped Raph, who he was gripping by the throat.

"Raph, are you okay?" I heard Donnie asked as Raph attempted to catch his breath.

I didn't hear the rest of the conversation for I was too busy trying to avoid Rahzar's swinging fist. But if I were to guess, I would probably guess that he told Raph to get to the Shellraser. Metalhead was in there with Donnie's medical supplies, so in case anyone got critically hurt, they would got to Metalhead and get some healing gel. Plus, he was also our 'secret weapon.' In case the fight goes out of hand.

"Lily, swoop in. I'm gonna hit." I told her and held up my Hanbo. She grinned at me then nodded. She swooped in close to Rahzar's feet. I gripped my Hanbo tighter and with all my force swung it and knocked the double mutated dog right off his feet.

"Yes! Nice hit!" Lily shouted in triumph and waved her fist in the air.

"Baxter! You Coward!" Rahzar shouted to his mutated fly friend.

As if at Rahzar's words, BaxterFly stopped flying, even though Lily was telling him to go. He refused and started flying back towards Rahzar.

"Stop, or I'll cut off your wings!" Lily cried and held up her katana. But Baxter didn't stop flying forward, "Very well then." She grinned evilly.

"Lily, what are you doing?!" I shouted through the storm. It was starting to get really bad. Every tiny drop of rain felt like little bullets hitting your skin.

"I gave you a warning!" Lily ignored my question, "Get ready to jump Taylor!"

"huh?!" I questioned in a panic.

Lily held her katana high in the air and gripped one of BaxterFly's wings. Then, she chopped in off. We went spiralling down. Just when we were about to crash, Lily held my hand and jumped. As a reaction, I jumped with her. We landed on our feet with a thump.

"Run!" Lily laughed as she screamed. We wanted to get away from Rahzar as quickly as possible. He was a tall mutant, even though his back is hunched, he still stands about 9 feet off the ground. So, Lily and I ran. Bashing a few bots along the way. Finally, we were out of the fight and able to take a breather.

"Well...that was...interesting..." I huffed, trying to catch my breath.

"Yeah...kinda fun though." Lily smiled. Even through a battle to the death, Lily was still able to smile.

"Are you hurt?" I wondered and noticed a cut right on Lily's collar bone. A small stream of blood trickled down from it and made her black shirt even more dark.

"Nah, I'm okay. You?" She wondered.

I glanced down at my arm that got cut earlier in the battle, it was no longer bleeding because the rain had washed it away. It still stung a little, but not enough to get me down. So I shook my head. And with a satisfied nod, Lily and I ran back into battle.

Freezing rain come pouring down now. The little icy drops felt like they could freeze right on our skin. This wasn't right, there shouldn't be freezing rain in mid April, but then again, weather can do weird things. Our winter was unusually long this year.

But none the less, the rain soaking into my cloths, gluing them to my body. A mixture of water, mud, and blood stained my face, arms, skin. But I continued to fight. I ignored my screaming muscle, I fought against the pain that was exhaustion. I kept going. Each step I took, my legs screamed at me to sit down, to take a break. We've been fighting for hours without rest. But this is what we've been training for. And I kept fighting, knocking down bots, ninjas and mutants. I was feeling pretty good, thinking we might actually escape this battle alive, until I heard a scream.

I froze, not knowing where the shout came from. I couldn't make out who screamed, it was too muffled by the sounds of metal hitting metal. Too hushed from the thunder that echoed through out the night. I couldn't make out who's voice it was. So that just got me more panicked.

I raced through the battle, stormed through the crowd. Searching for whoever's scream of agony rang in my ears. I didn't search for long, because a few moments later my eyes gazed upon a group of four mutant turtles helping up their Master.

I ran by their side within an instant, stopping beside Mikey.

"What happened?" I asked as I stared upon Leo and Raph, who had Splinter's arms around their neck.

"Splinter got struck by Shredder." Mikey whispered back an explanation. That's when I noticed Splinter's side. A long deep cut ran down his ribs. His Kimono was ripped and blood stained. But he wasn't unconscious.

"My students." Splinter's fragile voice called us forward, " 've lost sight of Shredder...he is somewhere...in the battle...be cautious."

"Hai Sensei." Donnie, Mikey and I replied simultaneously and bowed to him as Leo and Raph dragged him off to the Shellraser. To get fixed by Metalhead.

"Donnie." Leo called from over his shoulder, "Since Sensei can't fight, can we unleash Metalhead?"

"Yeah." Donnie agreed, "Just make sure he treats Splinter first."

With a nod, Leo and Raph continued to make there way to the van. I watched them leave, noticing all of their battle scars. Raph had a bleeding gash down his upper thin and Leo looked as if he had gotten stabbed right in the shoulder. They were both badly bruised in other places, and when I looked back at the other two turtles, they were badly bruised as well.

We greeted and dismissed each other with a nod and ran off. I couldn't help but notice that someone had reopened Donnie's age old scar that ran across his right eye and onto his cheek. And Mikey's bicep got slash somewhere in the battle. But they continued to fight, and so did I.

As I ran across the battle field, taking out any enemy that stood in my way. Breaking and krang bot or foot bot. And as I ran, I glanced over at the Shellraser, Leo, Raph and Metalhead emerged from it. But Splinter did not. I hoped that he was okay. And that's when I got reminded that we need to keep an eye out for Shredder.

That monster was somewhere loose in this battle field. His metal claws prepared to kill, to draw blood at the sight of flesh. So I had to keep a sharp eye, for anything that might look like the Shredder. I wasn't about to let Shredder hurt this family, my family. He hurt us enough already. With his rivalry with Splinter and his hatred towards the turtles. He would stop at nothing to get revenge, even steal a baby at the cost of someone will be miserable. So Shredder must be stopped.

All was going smoothly, I was hearing no more screams of pain and agony. I was fighting to my fullest, even though I was tired and wanted to collapse. Shredder wasn't seen yet. So while he wasn't hurting anyone, I grew more and more paranoid. Shredder is one of the greatest ninjutsu master there is, he trained right beside Splinter during their childhood. While they were teenagers. And young men. But now, revenge and jealously controlled Shredder, making him that much more of a threat.

I seen no sight of Shredder, no sign that he was here. I was just fighting a few krang bots that remained standing, that was until I seen a flash. I froze and quickly picked up my Hanbo that was stuck in the krang's head. My eyes searched frantically around the battle field.

That flash, the flash that I saw was like moonlight hitting metal. It could have just been a reflection from a sword, or krang bot. But something told me that it wasn't. I got this uneasy feeling in my stomach that it wasn't just another piece of metal reflecting against the night. I had this sense that it was a piece of metal armour.

I gazed around the field. Looking for that flash. I rested my eyes on each of my companions fighting in this battle, making sure they're alright. I see Leo fighting FishFace and TigerClaw, John was by his side. Then I seen Raph and Garret fighting foot-ninjas. Karai was battling Rahzar, along with Mikey. And Lily was battling krang. Even Splinter was back, clearly the healing gel worked. Then, my eyes rested on Donnie, his back was turned to me as he fought some foot bots. Then, I seen him.

I seen Shredder. He was only a few feet ahead of me, but was running in the opposite direction. He was running straight for Donnie. And the purple masked turtle with the genius brain, was completely unaware of the upcoming threat. The blow that could kill him.

It was as if something else controlled me, but I was surging with anger. Shredder wasn't about to take Donnie away from me, not again. So I ran. Instead of calling out to Donnie, I ran. The exhaustion that once possessed me faded away and was replaced by adrenaline. My feet was barely touching the blood soaked ground.

"Shredder!" I shouted in rage as I quickly caught up to the metal man. Shredder, shocked that he was seen, paused in mid run, giving me the upper hand. I zoomed forward and made a stupid move. I jumped directly on Shredder's back.

"Get off me!" Shredder cried and tried to shake me off. But I held on for dear life. I wasn't about to let go and let Shredder hurt my Donnie.

"Taylor! What are you doing?!" I heard Donnie scream from afar. But I didn't see him.

Finally, Shredder was able to shake me off and I landed on the ground with a thump. He turned around, infuriated that I messed with his plans. He took his metal claws and stabbed them in the ground, aiming for my throat. Shredder had one foot on my chest, I was unable to move. I closed my eyes and awaited for the burning pain, but it never came. I blinked open my eyes and seen that one metal spike landing on one side of my neck and the other on the other side. I was able to breath one sigh of relief before Shredder picked me up by the neck.

"Give me one reason to why I shouldn't kill you right now." Shredder threatened and raised up his other metal claw.

I tried to respond, but it only came out as a gag. My feet were dangling in mid air, my breath knocked out of me. I struggled to breath, I tried to grip Shredder's claws that hung around my neck. I tried to make it easier to breath, but found no success.

"Very well then." Shredder laughed maliciously. As if he found joy by bringing pain to others.

"No!" I heard Donnie's desperate scream and seen him running towards me and Shredder. He was dashing across the grass, jumping over and knocking down any obstacle that stood in his way. But Donnie was too late.

As if in slow motion, Shredder raised his metal fingers and brought them down, slashing my stomach. I knew he did it deep and fast, but for me, it was slow. I could feel the tip of his metal blades piercing my skin, stabbing through the flesh. Then, the slow stinging sensation of the cool metal tearing across my stomach, ripping it open. A burning pain hit me hard and fast. I felt blood gush out of me as Shredder dropped me to the ground.

I felt myself fall. I felt the hard cold grown come in contact with my body. I laid there on my stomach, my arm clenching the gash, trying to stop the bleeding. Pain consumed me, and I gave in to the exhaustion. I laid there, bleeding out. My blood soaked the white flowers that circled the field.

"Taylor!" Donnie's desperate voice called out my name. I turned my head to the side and seen Donnie drop to his knees, laying in the leaves that decorated the ground. I gave a weak smile, seeing Donnie had made it to me. My protector has made it, just not in time.

Donnie rolled me over on my back, a shooting pain ran up and down my entire body. It stung badly as I let out a little cry. The pain that I felt earlier in this battle, when I cut my arm, was nothing compared to this.

I stared blankly and confused at Donnie, he had threw this hands over his mouth and tried to stop himself from leaking tears. That's when I looked down at my arm that I had laid over my stomach. Shakily, I lifted it up and seen nothing but red. My shirt, even more dark, even more soaked now due to the constant flow of blood. My arm was drenched and heavy. The ground quickly grew soaked as a dark red puddle began forming.

"D-don't worry Taylor..." Donnie began speaking through his tears. His hands were hovering over me, flinching forward and away, as if Donnie was afraid to touch me, "I-I can take you back to the van. I can f-fix you." Then Donnie tried gently glide his hands under me.

"D-Donnie...don't." I stopped him, lifting up my arm and touching his hand. It felt was if a weight was being dropped on me. I felt so heavy, tried, exhausted. And pain consumed me. I couldn't help thinking, was this it for me? I was losing a lot of blood after all.

"W-what? I-I have to." Donnie insisted as he silently began to sob.

"No..." I shook my head in protest. I knew that we only brought one jar of healing gel, and to close this wound, we would have to use all of it, " ...save it."

"B-but-" Donnie began but I silenced him.

"I don't want...any gel." It was getting hard to breath. Not enough air was filling my lungs. Each time I breathed out, more blood would poor out of my wound.

"You need some." Donnie urged on as more tears stained his cheeks. Making his reddish-brown eyes glossy.

"I need all of it." I pointed out weakly, "You...your brothers need it too. Save it."

"Fine...then...then I'll take you back to my lab." Donnie got a new idea and went to scoop me up once again, "I'll fix you there." I moved away from Donnie, flinching in pain as I did so. By this time, tears began to stream down my face, not out of pain but out of misery. Fear that I might leave, and never come back to my Donatello.

"Donnie...don't." I told him. I couldn't except it. I couldn't take the gel away from Donnie and his brothers. And I knew that I couldn't move from this spot. I was stuck, I was torn.

"I have too...just let me try." Donnie pleaded, sobs escaped his lips. He was holding me in his arms, rocking slightly, but he respected my wish, and did not move me from this place.

I shook my head no in response. I was starting to feel cold, yet my stomach was hot and sticky. More red liquid gushed out of it. My breaths were getting more shallow, but I wasn't ready to go. I wasn't ready to let go, not just yet.

"H-here." Donnie muttered and took my mask off my face. He attempted to wrap it around my stomach, in hope to stop some of the bleeding. But I couldn't handle the pain, just touching it alone was enough to make me wish I was already dead. Eventually Donnie stopped trying, he shook his head and sobbed the word 'no' over and over again.

I love you." I whispered and smiled weakly at him. I hated seeing Donnie like this, I wanted to make him smile. Not cry.

"St-stop." Donnie stuttered and cradled me closer to his chest, "Don't talk like that. You're not leaving me."

I didn't respond. Not sure what to say, not sure what to do. I knew I was dying. There was no way I could survive this. The blood lost was enough to make a person sick. I felt it sink deep within the ground, soaking the green grass, turning it red. The blood of this battle field, my blood. I turned my head slightly and seen Splinter. He was far away, but I was able to see him. The fight was still going on, but Splinter was hovering over Shredder. His foot on his throat.

"Look." I coughed, my voice was growing horsed, "We're winning. We got what we wanted." Shredder looks as if he was going to die, I wanted to cheer Donnie up, get his mind off of me. He looked back, but only for a moment then focused back on me.

"I don't care." He sobbed and held me tighter, "I don't care about what I wanted, I don't care about Shredder anymore. I care about you. You are the one I need...Why? Why did you take that hit? It was for me, not you." Donnie's tears streamed down his face and dripped onto me. I wanted to wipe away his tears, like he's done for me many times before.

"I promised." I answered simply, "I promised I would always keep you safe. I promised you that I would protect you, no matter what."

Donnie took in a sharp breath, as if he couldn't believe what I had just said. But I meant every word. I promised Donnie that I would protect him. I wasn't about to break another promise. I did that far to many times in the past.

Donnie held me even closer to his chest as he sobbed. I ignored the excruciating pain in my stomach and only focused on Donnie. I find when I did, the pain in my stomach would fade. Would be taken away.

"B-but you also p-promised me that...that you'll never leave me." Donnie pointed out through his tears. They came down his face like a never ending river. While I was trying to heal Donnie's heart, I was breaking in as well.

"I also told you that I would wait for you." I smiled, a warm glow appeared in my blue-gray eyes. My ponytail that was tied so tightly in the back of my head had come undone. I could feel blood soaking into my hair, into my head, "...and I'll keep waiting. I'll wait for you Donatello, I'll wait forever if I have too."

"No...just...stop! Shut up!" Donnie pleaded, he was shaking violently. Crying into my chest, my lips were close to his ear, "I don't want to live in a world without you."

"Me too." I whispered. I could feel the energy draining from my body. I was feeling heavy, yet weightless at the same time. None of this felt real. I wanted what could be my last moment with Donnie to be special, one that he won't forget, "Donnie, what's my name?"

Donnie looked up at me, confusion lighting his tear clouded eyes, "T-Taylor."

"Remember me, Donnie. Please...never forget my name." I told him and caressed his face. He took my hand in his, holding it to his cheek. Cherishing this moment we shared. The sweetest sadness glowed deep within his eyes. Breaking him, and me apart piece by piece.

"I'll always remember. I'll never forget you...I promise." Donnie assured me and kissed me. I was able to get one last final kiss from my beloved ninja turtle. One last magical moment as I remembered everything I loved about Donnie. His eyes, his smile, they way he looks at me, the way it feels when he loves me, the warmth, of his broken heart. And as I was kissing him, my eyes grew too heavy for me to keep open. And as my time neared, my last thought was, _Goodbye Hamato, Donatello,_ before I drew in my final breath and I let my body go limp in his arms.

* * *

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE, PLEASE READ!**

**Okay, so I know most of you must hate me right now, so I'm just gonna cut straight to the point. THE STORY IS NOT OVER! There's still more chapters so bare with me! I'm sorry if I broke any hearts and made you cry, please don't hate me! **

**Oh! And if you could, please review! I really want to know what you guys think about this chapter, cause I have to admit...it's one of my favourites. So if you could review, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks in advance! ^J^**


	24. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

It felt as if a freezing cold liquid was running down my body and off my feet. It sent chills down my spine, freezing me to my very core. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't. I thought something was pinning them down. A needle almost, sown through my eye lids and onto my cheeks. I couldn't flicker them open, no matter how hard I tried.

Then pain. A very sharp pain, coming from my stomach area then shooting up and down my body. I screamed. But my screamed felt empty, as if it was in my head. I could hear myself scream, but could anyone else? I couldn't hear anything else except for my scream. What is going on?

Then it stopped. There was no more pain, and no more colder then ice water. I was able to open my eyes. When I did, I was just greeted with more darkness. As if I didn't open my eyes at all. But I looked down and I saw myself. I could see my feet, my hands, my body. But other then that, nothing. Just...black.

"Where am I?" I whispered to myself. My voice hushed and soft, like I was talking to a young child. My voice. It echoed as I spoke. Sounded like I was in a big empty room, all alone, surrounded by nothing but darkness, "Hello?!" I called a little louder this time. My voice bounced off the walls, coming back to my ear.

"**Greetings, Taylor.**" A deep voice responded to me. I knew that voice, or at least I think I did. It sounded so familiar.

"Midgar..." I stood there, where ever I was, in disbelief, "I...I thought you were dead."

"**I was never dead, you foolish child.**" Midgar mocked. Midgar can change back and forth between male and female, altering voices. Right now, he was using his male voice. A deep voice, and haunting voice.

I stood there, confused. Not knowing what to say. Midgar sounded so close, yet so far. I looked around in the dark, the blackness that surrounded me. It was like one big shadow, I couldn't see anything. Well almost nothing, I could see one this. A light...no two lights. Two bright glowing lights, they look almost like...

"Eyes." I hushed out loud, realizing that they were eyes.

"**So you can finally see me**." Midgar chuckled and stepped forward, emerging from the forever going shadow.

Midgar is terrifying. He looks like a real demon. He's tall, and skinny to the bone. His legs were long and bony, his feet only had two pointed long toes. And on the back of his ankles were three small spikes. Then his stomach was unnaturally skinny, all of his ribs were showing. Midgar's shoulders are broad, with spikes at the tip of each one. Then two spikes were showing behind his neck. His face, his terrifying face. A mouth that was stitched shut yet some how could still open and close, a grin that went all the way up to his cheeks. Midgar's smile, razor sharp teeth that almost glowed in the black. His nose, just two slits on his face. And his eyes, those haunting eyes that could go deep within your sol and reveal any secret. They were just two glowing spiked orbs. Midgar has no pupils, just white. And at the top of his head, two horns. Very high, very long, very pointy devil horns. And finally, he has a set of wings. Bleach white wings with black veins running through them. His wings looked torn with sharp edges. Then his hands, with fingers as pointy as knives. Could easily cut through any throat.

"**Something the matter?**" Midgar taunted and made his way over to me. He circled me, gliding his fingers, caressing my chin.

"Wait...why isn't your touch hurting me?" I wondered, remembering the time Midgar had touched my shoulder. Bruising it badly.

"**Because you're already dead.**" Midgar laughed and changed to his girl voice, my voice. Midgar's form changed as well. She looked pretty much the same except at the feet, instead of three spikes at the ankles there was only two, and much larger. Then two smaller spikes coming from the knees. Her nails were much longer too and her shoulders emerged into curved spikes. She had no spikes behind her neck, instead an extra pair of horns. They were much larger then the other ones though, and started where her ears would have been if she had any. Also her eyes were different. The shape was like normal human eyes, but they were all black with a white circle in the centre. Then in the circle was a black line running straight through it.

"I'm...dead?" I questioned, disbelief haunting my tone of voice, But...what about the other's? Where's Donnie?!"

"**Right here.**" Midgar smirked and snap her fingers. The darkness swirled around me. Then colour, colour appeared. I was back in central park.

_Am I _alive? I thought to myself, hope sparked in my system.

"**No, you're not alive.**" Midgar spoke flatly. I had forgotten that she can hear my thoughts, "**Think of you more like a ghost.**"

I held my hands in front of me, they were transparent. I could see right through them. The hope that burned inside me was gone in an instant.

I brought my hands back down to my sides. I looked around the scene. It was our battle field. The circle surrounded by white flowers stained with red. Then I seen him. I seen Donnie. He was holding something in his arms. I got a closer look and realized that the thing he was holding, is my body.

"That's...me." I mumbled and continued to stare. Unable to take my eyes off of what I was seeing. Donnie was in the grass, on his knees. Holding my corps, kissing it. It was exactly as I left it, "But it's not possible. How long has it been?"

"**In that world, 'bout one second.**" Midgar answered, she was standing right beside me.

"What do you mean, 'in that world?' What world?" I questioned. My brain hurt from all the confusion.

"**You're not on earth anymore**." Midgar clarified.

"Then where am I?"

"**Nowhere.**" Midgar answered simply, "**You're in between heaven and hell. Time passes differently here.**"

"Oh...so I'm technically not dead." I pointed out, making a connection. I would do anything to get that hope sparking again.

"**Well...no, you're not technically dead. But you're pretty much dead. On earth it looks like you're dead.**" Midgar explained, shifting her demon eyes from side to side.

I sighed, not knowing what to say next. So I walked closer to Donnie. I couldn't feel the grass beneath my feet, it was like walking on air.

"Donnie." I spoke softly as tears began to form in my eyes. I glided my hand gently along his face, caressing it.

"**He can't hear you or see you.**" Midgar informed me, but I kinda already figured that.

Sadness pierced my heart as caressed Donnie's face. I couldn't feel him, I was touching him, but felt nothing on my hand. What I wouldn't give to be able to feel Donnie, to feel the warmth of his skin on mine. What I wouldn't give if I could just feel his arms around me, just one more time.

Just then, Donnie's head jerked up, passing right through my hand. I quickly pulled it away and held it over my heart. I felt no beat. I really am dead.

"_Taylor?" _Donnie's voice sounded panicked. So I could hear him, see him. But he couldn't hear, see or feel me, "_T_aylor!?" Donnie called again, his voice raising even more as tears streamed down his face.

I couldn't bare to watch Donnie, broken once again as he shook my lifeless body. So I turned away, and I faced in Splinter's direction. He was standing over Shredder, his foot on the metal man's throat. Everyone was gathered around them, everyone except Donnie. The battle was over.

"_I give you one last chance Shredder,_" Splinter began, "_Change your ways. We do not need to live like this._"

" _...N-never!_" Shredder protested, too stubborn to take Splinter's generous offer.

"_Very well._" Splinter sighed and twisted his foot, cracking Shredder's neck. It's over, everything is over. Shredder is finally dead. After years of torment and suffering, Shredder died at the feet of Splinter. It was a good way to go, cracking someone's neck. Quick and painless. And now Shredder was no more. And I was able to watch it all.

My attention turned back to Donnie as I heard him start to pant heavily. Almost like he was hyperventilating. I looked closer, I looked directly into his glowing brown eyes. Rage and hate filled them. It filled them to the top, and over flowed with tears. I never knew Donnie could get so angry.

"Shh..Shredder!" Donnie screamed, practically flying to his feet. Donnie had his BO-staff clenched so tight that his knuckles were white and cracked, even bleeding. Donnie, leaving my body on the ground, ran at full speed to the already dead Shredder. It was like something was igniting his bones, like some force was controlling him. But he didn't care, Donnie didn't care if Shredder was dead or alive, he was going to do something anyway.

Everyone cleared the path when they heard Donnie's enraged scream, freezing with shock. But Donnie kept going. He ran past everyone, his attention fixed of Shredder's corps. Then he took his staff, blade unsheathed, and stabbed it in Shredder's throat. When Donnie took it out, blood ran down the tip of the blade and oozed out of the dead mans throat. Then he did it again, and again. Donnie was stabbing Shredder repeatedly, spraying blood every where. Getting it on the ground, Shredder and himself. Finally, Donnie did one last stab in Shredder's head before almost collapsing on the ground. His staff was the only thing keeping him standing.

"_Donatello! What is the meaning of this?_" Splinter asked, anger edging to his voice. Even Shredder didn't deserve to be wounded after death, it went against Splinter's honour code.

Donnie didn't answer. He just sobbed harder. Not caring who was looking, not caring who was listening. He just let it all out. Then, Donnie looked up at his rat master. His eyes already puffy and red from crying so hard. Donnie tightened his grip and stabbed Shredder once again. Hate controlling his every action.

"_Donnie! Stop!_" Raph shouted as he and Leo pulled Donnie away, holding him back. Donnie let his legs give out, only standing by the support of his older brothers. He sobbed, soaking his purple mask.

"_Donnie, bro? What's the matter?_" Mikey asked, concerned as he approached his genius brother with caution.

"_No._" Donnie spoke and broke free of Raph and Leo's grip. He ran his way back over to me and dropped to his knees. Wiping leaves away from his path as he scrambled nearer to me. Donnie then scooped me up in his arms, holding me close to his chest, "_Please...please no. Wake up. Wake up!_" Donnie cried desperately, rocking back and forth and holding me tight within his arms.

"_D-Donnie?_" Mikey called again, his voice growing more and more worried. The gang had all followed Donnie over to my body. My ice cold body.

"_Why...just, why?_" Donnie continued to sob and rock me back and forth, "_You...you said you'd never leave me!_" Donnie shouted to the sky, "_You promised!" _

A sob escaped from Mikey's lips, surprisingly he was the first to catch on. The orange clad turtle leaped into his oldest brother's arms. Sobbing into his shoulder. Leo began to silently cry, tears streamed down his face.

"_Is she..._" Lily didn't even need to finish her sentence, already knowing the answer. She went straight for Raph, and he instantly wrapped his muscly arms around my skinny friend. She sobbed just as hard as Mikey did. Raph bit his lip, but wasn't able to control himself and he began crying as well.

John started leaking tears and biting his finger. He does this when he's trying not to cry, but didn't succeed. John was crying, and Karai was right there to comfort him. Even she was crying, which I never saw Karai do. Garret, who was standing beside Splinter even let a few tears stream down his face. And I seen damp fur near Splinter's closed eyes.

"_Wake up!_" Donnie called desperately and shook my body violently, "_Wake up!_"

The scene around me froze, everyone stopped moving. Looks of pain, anger and sadness glued to their faces. I had to look away. So I looked back at Midgar, who I almost forgot was standing there.

"What happened?! What did you do?!" I shouted, I needed to see how this played out. I wanted to keep watching, no matter how much it pained me.

"**I froze it.**" Midgar almost had a laughing tone to her voice.

"You...you can freeze time on earth?" I wondered in disbelief, surely that's not possible.

"**No, everything is still happening, I just froze your vision on earth.**"

"Why?" I asked, anger bubbling inside of me. I was getting real frustrated at Midgar. After months of thinking she was finally out of my life, she suddenly appears again.

"**Because, it's time you should leave.**" Midgar answered with an evil grin, pretending to pick and flick dirt out from her long pointed finger nails.

"No!" I shouted in protest, "I need to see more! You have to show me!"

Midgar suppressed a heavy sigh, "**Fine. Shall we fast-forward by a...day or two?**"

Without waiting for a response, Midgar snapped her fingers and the scene before me faded from my vision, getting replace with that all too familiar darkness. I was about to cry out as more tears streamed down my face. I didn't want to leave Donnie, not ever. But the darkness didn't last long, for another scene had appeared. It was the lair. I was back in the lair, only...not alive.

"**This is two days after the battle.**" Midgar told me and stepped back so I could watch.

I looked around the room, the living room. Three of the four turtle brothers were seated on the couch, staring ahead. They were all bandaged up. Mikey had his bicep wrapped up tightly and arm in a sling. There was a huge bruise on the top of his head, and other smaller cuts running down his legs. His face wasn't too damaged, but a long cut rang across his cheek.

Leo had bandages wrapped around one of his shoulders. In the battle, Leo must have gotten stabbed there or something. One of his eyes were black, and his ankle looked badly bruised and swollen. Raph was probably bruised the worst, long dark spots running up and down his entire body. His shell received a few new scratches, and his upper thy was bandaged and blood stained. Again, all three turtles had other smaller cuts all over themselves.

Mikey was huddled close to Leo, his cheeks stained with a path of dried tears. His baby blue eyes no longer bright and happy. A painful sorrow haunted them, clouded them of their joy. Leo's eyes looked dull and tired. Their ocean blue simmer faded away. Raph stared blankly ahead. Looking at something.

I followed his gaze and seen that he was looking at my body. They had brought it back to the lair. It looked limp and lifeless. And what seemed to be a homemade IV and machine was attached to me. They must have just made it or something because we never had that before. But, why was I attached to an IV?

Splinter was nowhere to be seen, he was mostly likely meditating in the dojo. And Karai was probably with him as well since she was not with the turtles. Donnie wasn't there either. I could only assume where he could be, his lab. And as if on queue, a crash came in the lab's direction.

"_Raph._" Leo's voice was soft, no higher then a whisper, "_Go check on Donnie._"

Raph nodded to Leo and got up off the couch. Midgar and I followed him to the doors of Donnie's lab. The red masked turtle gripped the handles and attempted to turn them, but it was locked.

"_Yo Donnie._" Raph knocked on the giant metal doors, his voice was usually gentle, "_Open up._"

Another crash came from inside the lab, then another and another. Donnie was clearly not going to answer. So Raph knocked again and jiggled the knob. Donnie still never answered, but he must of threw something cause the door unlocked on it's own.

I followed Raph inside the lab, and gasp as I did. I never seen the lab so messy. Donnie's lab was dark, only a single lamp was lite. None of the ceiling lights, only one flickering lamp. The place was trashed. All of Donnie's inventions, broken to pieces. His T-phone was smashed beyond repair, and his computer was cracked in half. All of his test tubes, shattered across the ground, decorating it with broken glass. Donnie's lab tables, toppled over and flipped on it's side, breaking any inventions or pieces on it. His book shelves, on the ground, books spread across the floor. His cabinet that held all of his lab equipment had it's doors torn off, shelves bare. The only thing that wasn't broken or dented was Metalhead, who was in the centre of the lab, next to Donnie.

Donnie, he laid on the floor, panting and sobbing. His face was buried deep in his arms, non visible. His body was curled up in a little ball, shaking violently on the ground. It sounded as if every breath Donnie attempted to breath in was a sharp painful one, causing him to hic-up as he sobbed.

"_Donnie..._" Raph's voice trailed off at the sight of his broken down brother. Never have I seen Donnie so upset, not even when him and I broke up.

Donnie shakily lifted up his head, only to reveal worst. His eyes were blood shot and red. Underneath his eyes were puffy and swollen. His lips were a paler colour then usual, almost white. And his cheeks were stained with many paths of dried tears and new ones kept coming. Running off his face and onto the floor. His hands were covered in tiny cuts. Caused by him smashing his lab to pieces. I had to throw one of my hands over my mouth to stop myself from crying.

Donnie was looking up and deep into his brother's eyes. A strong burst of hope burned through them, begging for some kind of good news. Donnie was silently pleading for Raph to tell him something...something good. But Raph just looked down at his own chest and shook his head sadly.

Donnie's eyes went from hopeful to a deep pain. And I know that look in his eyes, it's the look of a broken heart. Donnie was hurting inside, badly.

"_Donnie..._" Raph repeated his brother's name but didn't dare take a step closer, "_I think she's gone._"

Donnie began panting heavily, his chest rising and falling faster then it should be. His blood shot brown eyes glazed with hurt, shock, and disbelief.

"_No!_" He cried desperately as more tears poured down his cheeks, "_How...how can you say that?!_"

Raph looked at his purple clad brother with desperation in his glowing green eyes, hoping Donnie will understand.

"_We want to unplug the IV, say some goodbyes._" Raph continued, forcing Donnie to cry some more.

"_No, we can't..._" Donnie shook his head.

"_C'mon, Taylor would want-_" Raph began but Donnie cut him off.

"N_o! Stop it! She doesn't want any goodbyes, she's not gone._"

"_Face it._" Raph continued, "_Taylor's dead._"

Donnie's eyes narrowed slightly and he spoke, "_No. She's not. Her heart is still beating!_"

"_Barely!_" Raph cut in sharply, more harsh then intended, "_We donated as much blood as we could, Mikey is still worn out_."

So that's it! Mikey's blood type must of been a match with mine, and he donated some of his blood to me. My heart felt a pang of sadness, knowing that Mikey would do that for me. That must be why I was hooked up to that IV.

"_Its been two days. It's no use._" Raph continued. I didn't blame him for wanting to give up, it seemed pretty hopeless.

"_But I was out cold for three weeks when I got hurt! You kept me around!_" Donnie protested, growing more angry by the second. His voice was cold and harsh, no emotion except pain and desperation clouded his tone. In a word, Donnie was devastated.

"_Because your heartbeat was stable! Her's isn't. There's a difference and you know it!_" Raph began shouting, getting frustrated, "_Taylor is dead!_"

"_No, she's not!_" Donnie screamed again. Something lite up in Raph's eyes. As if he just thought of something, or realized it.

Raph approached Donnie, kneeling down on one knee as he did so. Raph stared right into Donatello's sorrowful eyes. He set a shaky hand on his brother's shoulder.

"_Look, you're hurting inside. I get it, I really do._" Raph began. He was going deep, more deep then he's ever gone before. Raph may be tough on the outside, but he will be there for his brothers when it really counts.

Donnie stared back into Raph's meaningful eyes, but he looked lost. Donnie's eyes didn't shine like they usually do. When I saw them, they didn't light up my world like stars do to the night. They seemed distracted, lost...begging to be found.

"_I don't know what I would do if I lost Lily._" Raph continued and tore his gaze away from Donnie for a split second to look at the ground. But then returned the connection, "_But staying here, wishing she was back won't help. You need to admit it, Donnie. You need to tell yourself that Taylor's dead._"

"Nnn-" Donnie attempted to speak but hic-uped instead, "No."

At Donnie's answer, Raph's voice grew more firm, "_Yes. It'll bring some closure. It'll make you feel better."_

"_How?_" Donnie asked, yet had a more pleading tone to his voice. His eyes round with pain.

"_Just...say it._" Raph insisted, ignoring Donnie's question. Mostly likely because, he didn't know the answer.

"_She's..._" Donnie began but his voice trailed off. As if it pained him to say it. I leaned forward, wondering if Donnie will actually say. Will he actually admit it to himself?

"_Who's...what?_" Raph urged on, pretending not to know. I knew that Raph was right. It would bring a sense of closure to Donnie if he said I was dead. It was the first step of healing, knowing the truth.

" _aylor...she's...she's..._" Donnie's breath sped up as another sobbed escaped from his mouth. Fresh tears began to pour out of his eyes. A pang of guilt stabbed me through the chest. It felt as if I was feeling all the pain Donnie was. His emotional pain. I could feel all the hate, the guilt, the sorrow that he's feeling. It was like he and I shared one heart.

"_Taylor's what?_" Raph asked again. He was now helping Donnie to his feet. Donnie's legs shook from underneath him. It look like they wouldn't support his weight, even though Donnie looked more skinny then usual.

"_Taylor's..._" Donnie hesitated as he built up the strength to stand by himself and look Raph right in the eyes, "_dead!_" As soon as Donnie shouted the words, he began to sob harder, "_Taylor's dead!_" He repeated.

Raph took half a step back, shocked that Donnie said it twice. It shocked me too, and it stung. Every time Donnie spoke those words, a dagger would stab my heart. I'm not dead, I'm right here! But I couldn't say that, there was no point. Nobody would hear me anyway.

"_Are you happy now?!_" Donnie continued to scream through his tears, "_I said it! But I don't feel better! Taylor's dead! How? How is that suppose to make me feel better?! It doesn't bring any closure!" _

"_Donnie, I...I_" Raph was at lost for words. Seeing his brother heart broken must kill him inside. Nobody wants their family to feel this way, nobody wants to feel this way at all. So to see Donnie letting it all out, to see the brother that usually keeps to himself, keeps all his deep emotions hidden away, to see him like this. It must be hard.

"_You lied! You said I would feel better, but I don't! I feel worst! Why?! Why does everyone keep lying to me!?_" At Donnie's last words, he clenched his fist until white and threw a punch. He hit Raph directly in the face and knocked him to the ground.

I knew what Donnie meant by everyone lying to him. He was talking about all the times I lied to him. I lied to him about our break up, about me not loving him, I lied to him about never leaving each other's side.

"_What's going on in here?_" Leo demanded, but was kind about it. His eyes widen as he seen Raph on the floor and Donnie on his knees sobbing. Mikey went straight to Donnie. He just walked right up to the purple masked turtle and knelt down in front of him.

Donnie looked up at Mikey, eyes just as red and teary as ever, "_Taylor's dead!_" Donnie sobbed.

Mikey gave one look of sorrow until he wrapped his brother in a hug. Donnie was shocked at first and fell silent. He processed what was going on and hugged his baby brother tightly as he sobbed into his shoulder.

"_She's dead..._" I heard Donnie mumble through Mikey's shoulder and his sobs.

Once again, the scene around me froze.

"Midgar!" I shouted and turned to face her. I couldn't get over the sight of her, that demon. She was haunting, scary. With hollowed out eyes, with the white iris and thin black line of a pupil. Her bleach white wings and long sharp finger nails. Chills were sent down my spine.

"**It's time you get going.**" She insisted. But I didn't want to, I couldn't die. Not yet.

"No...I can't. I need to see more. What happens?" I couldn't leave, no...not yet. I needed to know how Donnie gets by. If he ever gets over me. I want him to find happiness, and if that's by finding another girl, then so be it. But right now, he's still in love with me as I am of him. People say that you only fall in love once in your life, other times it may seem like love, but really isn't.

Before Midgar replied, a wicked grin spread across her stitched together mouth, "**Alright, I'll go to the end of the week. But that's it.**" Midgar told me and I couldn't help but smile a thanks. But it took no affect on the demon. My smile faded.

The darkness of where this all started returned for a moment. The darkness that filled my vision when I first woke up, now it was only me and Midgar. Then, the darkness was gone. Just like that, I was in another part of New York. Though at first I couldn't tell which part. I could see my surroundings and hear them, but not feel them. I couldn't feel the cool night air against my skin, I couldn't breath in the air and have it tingle my mouth with cold. I couldn't feel.

After a moment, I realized where we were. I was on a rooftop, the rooftop of mine and Donnie's second date. Many thoughts went around in my head, all the good memories...and the bad ones. But I shook those thoughts away as I seen who was here with Midgar and myself. Donnie. Donnie was standing near the edge of the roof, looking down at the long drop.

I held my fingers on my lips, trying not to bit my nails. I was nervous, nervous to what Donnie was thinking right now. He wouldn't jump? Would he?

I then heard him breath a sigh and Donnie began talking to himself, or rather, to me.

"_I miss you Taylor._" His voice was sad and broken, not one happy emotion in it. Only pain, sorrow, anger, sadness, any negative feeling you can feel echoed through Donnie's voice. His eyes were no better, silently leaking tears, "_Why? Why did you leave me?_" Donnie paused and let out a soft chuckle, "_I keep asking myself that, but I never get an answer._"

"Donnie..." I whispered softly, though there was no need. Donnie couldn't hear me anyway. I felt so alone right now. Knowing I'll never be able to touch Donnie again. I'll never be able to hear his soft voice in the morning, or see his gentle eyes as he wakes me up. I'll never feel his lips against mine. I'll never get my Donnie back. And I'm pretty sure Donnie shared the same thoughts as I did.

"_They're unplugging your IV today_." Donnie spoke sadly and was looking up at the sky, "_I_ _tried to stop them, but it was no use. They gave me a few more days...but...but said it had to be done. Leo's doing it. No one else wanted to be the one, so he volunteered himself. He said as our leader, he would do it. No one objected, so he's gonna unplug it._"

I glanced back at Midgar, but she showed no emotions. She only stood there, arms crossed. So I focused my attention back on Donnie.

"_I know..._" He paused, struggling to speak, "_I know I should be there. I know I should be saying goodbye. But I can't...I can't face you. I can't stand to see your cold lifeless body...Besides...it's my fault your dead anyway. You took the blow, the blow that was meant for me. I hope you can forgive me._" Donnie let a sob escape from his mouth then bit his lower lip, "_I'm s-sorry_."

I let the tears stream down my face as my heart broke inside. This pain I felt, the pain Donnie felt, it was worst then dying.

Then Donnie confessed something, "_I-I should have told you the truth. I shouldn't have kept it a secret, then maybe, you wouldn't have died. Maybe then I would still be able to hold you, feel the warmth of your skin._" Donnie smiled a pitiful smile before continuing, "_It's all my fault._"

"It's not your fault." I whispered sadly, not trying to wipe the tears away from my eyes.

"_I don't forget you...I never will...not ever." _Donnie looked down at the ground, "_I wish I could forget somethings though. But I know I can't. I...I can still remember the look of pain on your face as Shredder sliced through your body. I remember your sad, caring eyes._" Donnie let a sob escape, "_I remember the expression on your face, I remember what it felt like to kiss your cold body. You...you slipped right through my fingers. I...I let you slip away, right through my fingers. It won't be the same without Taylor...No_" Donnie shook his head, "_I won't forget you...never._"

There was a long pause. I could tell by Donnie's expression that he was thinking about something. Thinking about something long and hard. A decision that could change his life.

"_I never got a chance to say goodbye._" Donnie looked down at the side walk, "_I-I can't...I can't live without you, Taylor... I'm so sorry._" And with that, Donnie stepped even closer to the edge. He was about to take another step, but froze.

"No!" I cried and let the tears fall freely. I leaped forward in attempt to grab a hold of Donnie's arm, but my hand just past right through in and I fell on the roof, "Midgar!" I shouted, knowing that she had froze the scene.

"**Yes?**" She snickered, knowing that she was getting to me.

"Does Donnie jump?!" I demanded to know. I couldn't imagine Donnie ever killing himself. He wouldn't...right?

Midgar remained silent, evil pleasured glowed in her demonic eyes. After a long pause of silence, she then snapped her fingers and brought us back to central park.

"What?...what happened?" I asked, confused to why she brought us back here. Back where it started. Donnie was still holding my dead body, sobbing into it. But he was frozen, "What's going on?"

"**I brought us back to the present.**" Midgar replied simply, though there was bitter sweetness in her voice.

"You...you mean none of that really happened?" I questioned in disbelief. It was to good to be true.

"**Yet.**" Midgar corrected me, " **None of that happened yet.**"

My tiny spark of hope that burned so brightly within me, burnt out.

"I...I have to get back to them...to Donnie." I decided and turned to face Midgar. I couldn't let all of what I just seen become a reality. I won't let that happen.

"**Ha! There's no way you can do that.**" Midgar told me with pleasure, "**You ready?**"

"Ready...ready for what?" I cocked an eyebrow in confusion, in fear. In reality, I didn't want to know what Midgar meant. _Ready for what?_ The question repeated in my mind over and over again as I waited for a response.

"**To die.**" Midgar almost sang with joy. She was so hateful...so...so evil. What kind of question was that? Am I ready to die? No! Of course I wasn't ready, who would be? I couldn't die, I had to get back to Donnie.

The sound of nails on a chalk board interrupted my thoughts and pierced my ears. A painful chill ran through out my entire body. I turned around and saw Midgar, scraping the darkness. Behind me wasn't the rest of central park, wasn't the rest of the blood stained battle field, but a giant wall of darkness. Of blackness. But Midgar with her pitch black nails, dug her claws into the black wall and tore a hole through it. A blinding white light emerged from the claw marks. Midgar turned and faced me, gesturing for me to walk into the light.

Every muscle in my body seemed to get lighter, feeling like I could just float to the light. It was so beautiful. I couldn't look away, the light was haunting. It goes deep within your soul, sucking you into it. I took a step further. I could feel the light running through my body, coursing through me, telling me to come closer. It was like the light was whispering for me to come closer. I could of sworn I heard a faint voice. My legs seemed to move by themselves as I took yet another step closer. Every instinct I have was telling me to turn around, to not go into the light. But I couldn't resist. It was so beautiful.

Then I heard it. I heard a very faint, very distant cry. I knew that voice, I knew that heart broken cry. It was Donnie. His sob echoed in my ears and repeated itself in my head. I snapped out of it. The irresistible light, no longer looked beautiful. Any desire I once had to walk towards it, was gone. The only thing on my mind was Donnie.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Midgar. Her hand on her lean figure. On her hip. She once wore a satisfied grin, but now that smile faded. Replaced by curiosity and, was that...fear?

I glanced behind me. The scene was still frozen, Donnie crying into my body. My family surrounded me with looks of horror and pain glued to their expressions. No, I won't leave them. Nothing will keep me apart from Donnie. I'm a spirit right? Just a wandering soul. I could go back.

I ran. I ran towards my limp body in my lover's arms. My legs felt like Jell-O, but I kept running. I could feel myself slipping away, I could feel the wrath of the bleach white light calling me back. I could hear Midgar shouting the word 'no' as I got closer and closer to my body. I could hear her foot steps behind me. But I kept running.

As I got closer and closer to my body, a bone shattering pain coursed through me. A pain worst then death, or as if I was dying myself. It felt like a snake had bitten me and it's deathly venom was slowing coursing through my veins. My whole body was stinging, and as I got closer to my body, the pain increased. Soon, it became unbearable and I let gravity pull me down as it gripped my ankles. I was so close, my corps only inches away. I gripped my stomach, that's where the pain was coming from. I looked down and seen that my stomach was practically glowing. That's where my wound was, that's where the gash that killed me was placed. I thought maybe if I could get to my body, I could hop back into it.

A evil sounding chuckle erupted from behind me.

"**You were so close.**" Midgar taunted and stepped to where I could see her, "**You're right you know. All you need to do is touch your body, and you'll return.**"

I glared at the demon. She didn't think to tell me this before?

"**But at a price.**" Midgar continued as I laid on the ground, panting from the pain.

"W-what's...the...price?" I managed to muttered. But I shrieked as I did so and tightened my grip around my stomach.

"**I'll send you back, but you'll wake up too late.**"

"What...do you...mean?" I asked as tears threatened to come pouring down my face and sweat dripped from my forehead.

"**You'll wake up...five minutes before Donnie jumps.**" Midgar explained and chuckled as she did so. Midgar knew she was getting to me. She knew how I felt inside. I felt devastated. What was the point? There was no possible way to get to Donnie in time. The run is let alone ten minutes. Is there any point at all? Am I just better off dead? I shook the thought away, no this is was Midgar wanted. This is what she wants, she wants me dead. I need to at least try!

I took a deep breath and gathered up all my strength to speak, "..Deal..."

At first, Midgar's eyes stretched wide with shock. She wasn't suspecting that I was going to chose life over death. But I had to try, I promised Donnie I wouldn't leave him, so I took the only chance I got. It was a big risk, but I had to take it.

"**Very well.**" Midgar shrugged and bent down. She took my arm in her hand. Her touch was cold, like frost-bite-skin-falls-off-cold. But none the less she took my arm and pulled it forward, just until the very tip of my fingers touched my ice cold body.

A huge rush came over me as I felt myself getting sucked into my corps. It felt weird. I felt the cold water sensation again when I first woke up in the darkness. Nothing felt real at the moment. I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or closed. All I seen was darkness. Then...images. Like pictures. Images of the days passed flashed through my brain and vision. I was seeing everything that happened over the days that I was going to be passed out. But it went by so fast. I couldn't tell what was what. I only got quick glimpses of each photo. I saw after the battle, I noticed Donnie being supported by Raph, sobbing. Then colours. I knew there were other images of the next few days, but I couldn't make them out. I managed to see one of Donnie smashing his lab, then Leo holding Mikey.

More and more came into my brain and zoomed past my eyes. I could see me, my lifeless body laying on the couch. More colours. More blobs and blurs. Then...then nothing. Everything fell silent. I only see that dreadful colour black that I came to fear. Black, it makes me feel alone. Dark, it makes me feel empty. It surrounds me. I could see nothing.

My breathing sped up and my heart raced in my chest. Was I panicking? I couldn't tell. Was I back in the mortal world yet? I couldn't tell. I couldn't tell left from right, up from down. I couldn't see anything, couldn't feel anything. I couldn't see my body. I tried lifting up my hand and holding it in front of my face, but I couldn't feel it. I tried screaming, but I couldn't. I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't hear, feel or see anything but blackness. It felt like I was falling, choking on the darkness. Then a hard thump, as if I fell from a building, and my eyes shot open.

* * *

**Three times...three times I tried to edit this chapter! But I double pressed the back button and all my work was erased! I had to do this three times! So that's the reason why this chapter is up so late. I'm really sorry, but hey! Taylor opened her eyes! She's not dead! Ta da, whoop-dee-do, Whoo hoo. Alright, please enjoy and please review! **


	25. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Bright light filled my eyes along with a blur of colour. All I could hear was my panting and my heart pounding. I felt so hot, as if I just woke up in cold sweats.

_I'm awake!_ The thought hit me like a bullet. I blinked a few times, trying to clear up my vision. Tears began forming in my eyes from me opening and closing them so much, but finally, I could see clearly. I quickly glanced around the living room. It was deathly quiet, only the faint humming coming from my IV machine could be heard. Then, when my gaze rested on the couch, I saw Leo sitting on it, reading a comic.

I opened my mouth in attempt to speak. My mouth was dry and sticky, each time I drew a breath in it hurt. When I tried to speak, the only noise that came out of my mouth was a pathetic wheezing sound. Then I broke into a couching fit.

Leo looked up from his comic and stared wide eyed at me. In an instant he was by my side, taking my hand in his.

"You're awake!" Leo spoke with pure relief shining in his ocean blue eyes. I could only stare at him. Leo then placed his other hand on my forehead, "Your fever hasn't gone down yet..."

So that's why I feel so hot! Apparently over the week that I've been 'dead' I caught a fever or something.

I looked around the room, searching for the others. I wanted to ask Leo, but couldn't speak. He must of noticed me and read my mind.

The others? Well Raph is in his room with Lily at his side. John and Karai are in the dojo, Sensei I think is in his room. And Mikey and Garret went to look for Donnie." Leo explained with a pang of sadness appearing in his eyes.

_Donnie!_ I screamed his name inside my head and sat up with a jolt. As soon as I moved, a hot fiery pain coursed through me and I let out a shriek. Leo guided me back down.

"Hey, don't move." He shook his head.

I looked down at my stomach. I lifted up my shirt and seen that my stomach was wrapped tightly up in blood stained bandages. I glided my fingers over it and hissed in pain. But I felt something. A crust like substances plastered on my skin. I knew exactly what it was, I turned my head to the side and glared at Leo.

He looked down at the ground, "I'm sorry, we know you didn't want any. But it was the only way that we could save you."

That's when I realized, Leo didn't have on any healing gel. In fact, when I was with Midgar, I didn't see any healing gel on anyone. All their cuts, wrapped up, but still open.

_My vision!_ I quickly remembered. Was it real? Or was it just a thing of my imagination? I needed to find out. I struggled to sit up, gritted my teeth and fighting through the pain.

"Taylor! What are you doing?" Leo practically shouted and tried to get me to lay back down. But I pushed his hand away.

"Nnn...no." I muttered and shook my head it protest as I set my feat on the ground. My legs felt wobbly and unstable, but I stood up anyway. I nearly collapsed but Leo caught me just in time. I looked his way and smiled a thanks, but he didn't return it. Instead he tried once again to get me back on the couch. I struggled in his grip and broke free, nearly toppling over as I did so, but I regained my balance.

"You shouldn't be moving Taylor." Leo insisted, but I just glared at him and pointed to his wrapped up shoulder. He should be laying down too and he knows it. When Leo glanced down at his shoulder, that's when I made a break for it. I ran to Donnie's lab, I needed to know if my vision was real. I needed to know if I actually seen the future. I was clutching my stomach as I ran. It felt like a fire was burning in my stomach, but I kept running, for Donnie.

I swung open the lab doors open without hesitation. The lab, destroyed. My heart sank. That must mean Donnie is on the rooftop, ready to jump.

"No..." My voice was soft and horsed. Tears immediately started forming in my eyes. I only had five minutes, and was awake for about two. That means I only have three minutes to get to a place where it takes ten minutes. _I have to try. _I told myself. By this time, Leo had caught up with me and was standing by my side. I exchanged a meaningful glance with him, I could of swore he knew that I know where Donnie is, because he nodded to me. I nodded back, and set off running.

Despite the pain, I ran faster then my feet could carry me. I knew it was now or never. I already wasted too much time, I needed to go faster. I would of took the stealth bike or the Shellraser at most, if it wasn't broken to pieces. So my feet was the only option.

In a short amount of time, I made it to the manhole cover and practically flew up and onto the surface, not paying attention to see if anyone was coming. Then, I found the first apartment building and climbed up. I now ran on the rooftops. I mapped out my root in my head and took the shortest way possible. I glanced down at my watch, I only had a little over two minutes.

"C'mon feet...f-faster." I mumbled to myself. It was hard running with one hand on my stomach, it was hard running in general. Every wound on my body screamed at me. Even the tiny little cuts I had around my ankles or on my arms. At this point, I wondered if they used all the healing gel on me. We had about five containers of it, would it take that much to closer my wound?

I jumped, soared through the air. But I landed wrong. I landed hard and my ankle, twisted, then gave out on me. I bit my lower lip, trying not to scream out. A bone shattering pain now possessed my ankle. I cursed underneath my breath at me being so stupid and not careful. But I stood anyway. And continued to run, I would run through any pain for Donnie. I had to get to him, I had to save him.

Another roof, another jump, another hiss of pain. I ran, and ran and ran. I looked back down at my watch, I had 45 seconds and I was still about three minutes away. The rooftop only came into sight now, but I was still far away. I couldn't even see Donnie's shadowed figure yet. But I took a chance.

"Donnie!" I screamed his name, though my voice cracked as I did so. I took the chance of calling to him. I needed to get his attention, even if I couldn't see him, even if it was too late. I needed to try.

Only silence. No response. The only sound that could be heard was a few cars passing by on the streets. I didn't know if it was from the pain in my heart or the wind whipping at my face, but tears began to pour down my face.

"Don-nie!" I cried out again, this time more clearly. Rain was beating down on my face, mixing with my tears and soaking my tangled brown hair that hung down past my shoulders near the centre of my back. My cloths stuck to my side as I got drenched.

I ran faster. Finally, Donnie came into view. Relief flooded over me like a wave of the ocean. But that relief quickly turned to fear and I felt like I was drowning. Donnie was so close to the edge. Only hanging there by a thread, half of his feet were off the edge. I squinted my eyes, to make sure Donnie was really there, and he was. But I had a feeling not for long.

I needed to get to him, I couldn't let him down. I couldn't fail Donnie, no, not again. I just can't. I wouldn't be able to stand the feeling of loneliness. The feeling you get when your completely defenceless, the feeling of not being able to help the person you love. When you're helpless. It's the worst feeling in the world. And that's why I was fighting against the pain in my stomach, the pain in my ankle, the pain in my chest.

"Donnie!" I repeated his name, now only a few rooftops stood being him and I. But he didn't look up. Donnie didn't hear me, "Donnie!" I desperately shouted his name again as he inched closer to the edge. I began to sob, sob harder then I ever did before. With my heavy breathing, desperate cry and rain drops that felt like bullets hitting your skin, there was no reason for me not to cry.

"Donnie!" I screamed louder, praying that he heard me. But nothing happened. Six rooftops, five, four. With each new roof, I screamed his name. But Donnie seemed distracted, lost. Lost in his own thoughts, his own pain, his own sorrow. I was getting tired. I could feel the energy draining from me. But I had to try, just one last time. As I landed on the last rooftop that stood between me and Donnie, I screamed, "Donatello!" Then collapsed.

Right before I fell, I caught one last glimpse of Donnie. He looked up, he heard me. Then, a thump. I hit the ground with a hard thud. A loud ringing in my ears erupted as soon as I hit the ground. I couldn't help thinking if I was too late. If maybe Donnie just thought he was hearing things. But then, his voice.

"H-hello?" His voice shook. Many emotions echoed through it. Sadness, despair, hope. But it was false hope. Like he was trying to fool himself in believing I was here. That I was alive.

But I am, I lived! I needed to get up. My muscles screamed at me to stop, to just lay down and give up. But I couldn't, I wouldn't. I won't give up. I needed to keep going. I didn't come this close, just to fail. I pushed myself up with shaky arms. Then legs. I shut my eyes tightly when I placed my ankle on the ground. Pain shot up and down my leg and a lump was rising in my throat. I swallowed the fear and cry that rose in my throat and stood up.

I could feel triumph running through me. I felt my hair blowing in the wind and a single tear rolled down my cheek. Donnie, he was there. He was still standing, looking in my direction. A wide smile spread across my face as I took one mighty leap and landed on the rooftop of our second date. Right in front of Donatello.

Donnie stared at me in disbelief. His eyes wide and full of tears, his mouth open ever so slightly, revealing his missing tooth to me. Tears immediately began swelling up in his eyes while my were rolling freely down my cheeks. I knew that it was me, but did Donnie?

"T-Taylor?" Donnie spoke. The sadness in his voice was overwhelming, hitting me like a brick wall, breaking my heart inside.

Too overwhelmed and choked up to speak, I simply nodded my head. Donnie paused, not speaking. Letting silence fall over us. Slowly, he raised his hand and place it on my cheek. Caressing it.

"You're...you're real." He spoke and let a sob escape from his mouth. He blinked once and a river of tears poured down Donnie's cheek. Dripping off his face and blending in with the pouring rain. His mask was a deeper shade of purple due to the rain, making his sad eyes glow brighter. But I couldn't help but notice his scar going across his eye. The three year old wound, reopened in our final battle. This time, I slowly raised my hand, gliding my fingers over the gash.

Donnie didn't even flinch. He only took his other hand and held mine in his, pressing it close to his chest. I stared deep into his eyes, suffocating in the emotions Donnie was feeling. Donnie's lip quivered as he looked at me with pleading eyes. Without a word, Donnie pulled me into a hug. Wrapping his arms tightly around me and pressing me close to his chest. I was so close, I could feel Donnie's heart beating through his plastron.

"You're a-alive?" Donnie still spoke with disbelief.

"Y-yeah, I'm alive." I cried and buried my face into his shoulder. Letting him hold me. I savoured Donnie's touch, his scent, his presence. It only hit me now that I almost died, and would be away from my Donatello for a very long time. It only hit me now, that not only did I almost lose him, but also myself.

"I thought I lost you." Donnie cried harder and set his head on mine. Savouring my touch, breathing in my scent, savouring my presence. Everything I felt towards him, he returned it right back, "You-you said you'd never leave me. You promised."

"You're right." I told him and back out of the hug, though our foreheads were pressed together, "I promised you I would never leave you...so...I came back."

Donnie let out a laugh and a sob at the same time. Then he took my head in his hands and pulled me to him, kissing me.

It took me a moment to realized what was going on, but when I did, I kissed back harder and deeper. Donnie's lips against mine were so soft. Now, I could savour Donnie's touch, Donnie's scent, Donnie's presence, Donnie's taste, Donnie. He was mine, mine to keep. Nothing in this world could keep us apart, not even death itself. And as I was kissing my soul mate, all the pain I once felt, faded.

"**Aww, isn't that sweet.**" An all too familiar voice spoke. And I only now realized just how cold it suddenly gotten. My heart sank.

"Midgar!" Donnie and I spoke simultaneously, pulling away from each other and turning to face the demon. It was in her female form. With her double set of horns, bone skinny body and long devil's tail. It scent a chill down my spine.

"**So, you actually did it. I never thought you'd make it in time.**" Midgar spoke directly at me then turned to Donnie, "**What a shame really. Donatello was suppose to die, then Taylor kills herself right after you. Oh well, now I just have to kill the both of you.**"

"Not if we kill you first!" I spat back and Donnie wrapped one arm around me, pulling me close. He took out his BO-staff with the other and stood in a defence pose.

"You're not going to touch her!" Donnie declared, protecting me, "You took her from me once, never again!"

"**You think you can kill me? Ha! I'd like to see you try!**" Midgar taunted with a grin, "**I can kill you in any place, but you? You can get me in one.**"

I tried not to show my disappointment that I felt inside. I knew Midgar was right. All odds were against us. The probability of us killing Midgar, for good, was fairly low. I should of known the first time that we didn't get rid of Midgar. You can only get rid of her by killing her in the same place that she was originally killed in. Not by giving ourselves concussions. So that meant Donnie lied to me.

I was snapped out of my thoughts as Donnie charged forward. I tried to stop him, but he didn't listen. He was in no shape to battle. And the rain didn't help. I, on the other hand, wanted to help, but Donnie had pushed me to the ground and my stomach exploded with pain. I couldn't get back up. I knew Donnie did it out of protection, but he needed help too. His body was not healed, covered in black bruises and red cuts.

Donnie spun his staff like an expert and unleashed the blade. He landed a blow on Midgar, stabbing her right through the stomach.

"**Wrong move Don.**" Midgar teased and kicked Donnie down to the ground. Her stab wound did bleed, but not normally. Midgar's blood was a bright white. A thick liquid. But then, her pitch black skin bonded together. Closing the wound.

By this time, Donnie got up and continued to fight. But he was no match for Midgar. Sure, he would cut her and stab her, but never in the right place. Down the leg, in the eye, through the chest. Nothing. And this whole time, Midgar continued to taunt.

"**Keep trying lover boy. But once I kill you, I'm going after Princess here.**" Midgar nodded towards me.

_Lover boy? Princess?_ Midgar's words rang in my ears and I kept repeating them over and over again in my head. They sounded so familiar, I knew someone who use to call us that. Then it hit me. I realized who is was being possessed by that demon body. I knew how to kill Midgar.

I searched frantically around for something sharp. I couldn't call out to Donnie cause then Midgar would know that I've discovered her secret. So, I picked up the only this I could. A loose broken brick that came off the building. It was sharp at the end, just what I needed. I gathered up all my strength and stood up. With a battle cry, I charged forward towards the demon.

Midgar only had a split second to look my way before I jumped on her and stabbed the sharp brick deep into the side of her neck. Slicing it open. Midgar let out an ear shattering shriek of pain and collapsed to the ground, clawing at her neck as she drowned in blood. The bleach white blood felt cold on my skin as I stood there, hovering over her, still clenching the brick before I tore it out. Sending the crystal like blood splattering everywhere. On the ground, in my hair, on Donnie.

I finally backed away, going back into Donnie's grasp. That's when I've realized something, if for Donnie, I could kill something. I would kill something, someone. And I did. I felt an unpleasant feeling inside. Did I count as a murderer now? I couldn't help but thinking that. I bashed hundreds of krang and foot before, but never actually killed them. The ninja turtles don't do that, we don't kill.

"What's happening?" I heard Donnie whispered beneath his breath. I glanced at Midgar, her body, her demonic pitch black body was turning into dust. Star dust. She was no longer screaming, no longer clawing at her throat in pain. And now a white ghostly light was emerging from her body. Rising from the ashes. Then the light formed a shape, and shape of a person. April.

She looked different. She wasn't wearing the outfit I've seen her in. No metal was bared on her face, no metal chest plate, no black clothing. It look as if she was wearing a T-shirt, with shorts and leggings. Her hair tied back in a low ponytail. This wasn't the April I knew. This was the April Donnie knew, before she turned evil. This is April's good spirit.

"A-April." Donnie stuttered her name in disbelief. I looked up at his face and worry filled my heart. I could never push down the feeling of Donnie still being in love with April. And now, his first crush, his first love, was standing right in front of him as a spirit, "You...you were Midgar?"

April nodded sadly. Ashamed of her evil ways. Only evil souls gets trapped in demons. But it's like a second chance. Instead of going to the underworld for forever, they can always escape. They can always prove themselves worthy and get out of their demon body. Being set free, going to a better place as the person they were before sinful.

The ghostly April walked right up to Donnie, not making a sound. She mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' to him then wrapped her arms around his neck. Donnie's eyes stretched wide at Aprils touch. I wondered what it felt like, to be hugged by a spirit.

As if April read my mind, because next she walked over to me. A warm smile was spread across her face and light-tears were forming at the base of her eyes. Threatening to leak out at any moment. She mouthed the words 'thank you' to me. Looking like she was actually speaking, but no sound came from her mouth. Then, she hugged me. Instead of feeling cold and dead, her touch was rather warm. Almost uplifting.

When April backed away, she wore a smile on her face. She exchanged one last glance to Donnie, then to me again, before fading away. And just like that, she was gone.

I looked at Donnie, not daring to take my eyes off of him. Mixed emotions flashed through his reddish-brown eyes. Those beautiful eyes that I fell in love with, and continue to adore. At the moment I wished that I could read Donnie's mind. But then the moment past and I felt like I didn't need to. I could feel a force pulling us together, urging us forward. I didn't know why, but at first I fought against it. But the power of this invisible force was too strong and I found my self running to Donnie, and he running to me. And the moment that we kissed, I recognized this force. It was the force that was holding Donnie and I together when we first kissed. In my bedroom, all those years ago.

I wrapped my arms around Donnie's next as we kissed in the pouring rain, and pulled him closer. He depended the kiss, breathing in. I felt my legs growing weak, I could just fall to the ground at any moment. Donnie placed his hands on my back, keeping me up. But somehow, we found ourselves slowly descending to the ground. And by the end of it, I found Donnie and myself on the soaking rooftop, on our knees.

We pulled away from the kiss, but Donnie held my head in his three fingered hands. Staring in my eyes with a wide grin spread across his face. He still couldn't believe I was alive. It wasn't physically possible, but really it was all thanks to Midgar that I was alive. She granted me life, she allowed me to come back. She thought that we would just die, Donnie and I. But she was wrong, instead Midgar got her freedom. April, was free of her evil wrath.

"I love you so much." Donnie told me, joy filling his voice. Donnie wasn't even flinching. Wasn't flinching from the gash down his face, the cuts covering his body, the bruises, the scratches on his shell. He wasn't even squinting in the down pour. But his eyes leaked tears. Tears strolled down his face, following the paths from previous tears. My eyes did the same, pouring out tears. Crying in the rain.

"I love you too." I told him while shaking my head and closing my eyes. The love was almost radiating off of Donnie. I could feel it, see it, breath it. It was overwhelming, but not shocking. I could soak it in, and cherish it. I could feel the heat coming off of Donnie as well, and it only got hotter when Donnie pulled me in close and pressed our foreheads together.

"All I wanted..." Donnie paused as he choked on his words, fighting back his own emotions, "Was just one more moment, staring in your eyes, one more moment that I would get to hold you. Then, I thought I could wait. But now I know...I-I wouldn't be able too. I wouldn't be able to wait."

I could only half laugh half sob in response. Too choked up with emotions to speak. While Donnie couldn't wait, I couldn't be mad. He lied to me. He said Midgar was gone, when she wasn't. I should be mad at him, we promised each other that we wouldn't lie to one other, not ever again. But I couldn't find it in myself to be mad. I look back at all the promises I made, and broke. All the times I lied to Donnie for his own good. All the times I lied. But he forgave me, every single time. Every promise I broke, every lie I told, he forgave me. Even when I left him, Donnie took me right back. So there was no way I could be mad at him. No, not ever again. Because Donnie, while he has my heart, I also have his.


End file.
